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The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has reportedly become the first financial institution in the small, oil rich Middle Eastern country to introduce “NBK Direct Remit” - which is a cross-border payments solution that uses RippleNet.
As explained in an official blog post by NBK, RippleNet (a decentralized network of banks and other financial institutions using Ripple Labs’ suite of financial products) will be used to provide “a frictionless remittance experience” for the bank’s customers and “fast cross-border money transfer solutions.”
According to the Kuwaiti bank’s announcement, “NBK Direct Remit” is a “fast remittance service” that can be accessed at any time (24/7) via NBK’s online portal. Moreover, NBK is planning to launch more “innovative solutions” in order to meet the growing requirements of its clients.
NBK's Customers May Now Use RippleNet
Commenting on the bank’s new initiative, Dimitrios Kokosioulis, the deputy CEO and group head of operations at NBK, remarked:
This service is a significant achievement as it enables our customers to make money transfers within seconds, easily and at their convenience any time of the day. The launch comes as part of our commitment to responding to the needs of our customers wherever they are around the world, providing them with safe solutions and a global presence in 15 countries.
Kokosioulis, an economics graduate from the University of Rochester, further noted that the NBK remains “focused on digital transformation.” He also mentioned that the Kuwaiti financial institution had previously introduced “successful and innovative products” including QuickPay, “NBK Tap & Pay” (a service that allows users to “pay without entering a PIN or providing a signature”), biometric cards, “cardless cash withdrawals”, and NBK SelfiePay (a service that allows users to verify credit card transactions “with [their] selfie or fingerprints, without a password”).
RippleNet Cross-Border Payments To Jordan Now Available
According to Kokosioulis, the new service involving RippleNet will be available to NBK’s clients so that they can “make live payments” to Jordan and several other countries throughout the world. Marcus Treacher, the senior vice president of Customer Success at Ripple Labs, said:
The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) is an important partner in the region, and we're excited that they have begun moving live payments across our blockchain network on behalf of their customers. We will continue to work with NBK to connect them to more RippleNet partners so their customers can make quicker, cheaper payments to anywhere in the world.
NBK is reportedly the largest banking institution in Kuwait and holds a relatively large “market share” in the nation’s “commercial banking” industry. NBK also has the “highest credit ratings” among local banks and it has received the rating from the world’s leading agencies including Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch.