Link copied 
SBI Ripple Asia, a joint venture company between financial services giant SBI Holdings and blockchain startup Ripple, in partnership with SBI Remit, an international money transfer service business operator, has launched the first money transfer service between Japan and Vietnam utilizing distributed ledger technology (DLT).
The DLT-based Japan-Vietnam money transfer service will be denominated in real currency and facilitated through collaboration with Vietnamese bank, Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank.
“Our cooperation with SBI Ripple Asia Co., Ltd on the application of blockchain technology in cross border money transfers marks an important turning point in enhancing our customer experience and makes international money transfers via TPBank faster, more convenient and safer than ever before,” Nguyen Hung, CEO of Tien Phong Bank, said.
According to a press release dated Nov. 15, Ripple’s settlement platform RippleNet enables the transfer of funds between SBI Remit and Tien Phong Bank in real-time and cost-effective manner.
With the current service using only real currency, Yoshitaka Kitao, Representative of the SBI Group, hinted at the possibility of incorporating crypto assets in the future.
“The booming Vietnamese economy is one of the most attractive markets around the world. TPBank, which the SBI Group has invested in, in 2009 and owns a 19.9% share of, has achieved steady accumulation of loans and non-interest income such as settlement services, by actively utilizing cutting-edge technologies,” Kitao said.
“The adoption of RippleNet will further differentiate the company from its competitors. We will also develop remittance services that incorporates crypto-assets in the future.”
Earlier in June, SBI Ripple Asia teamed up with Coinone Transfer, a payments business and a subsidiary of cryptocurrency exchange Coinone, to facilitate blockchain-based remittance in South Korea.
