Kotak Mahindra Bank has recently tied up with ripple. It will be using the ripple net protocol in order to initiate the cross-border payments. With the help of this protocol, it will be able to initiate and conclude the cross-border payments within seconds. Earlier, there was speculation that the central bank will ban all the cryptocurrencies. Also, there was speculation that the cryptocurrency traders will be sent notices by the authorities. Amidst all of this, there is finally some positive news for the cryptocurrency enthusiasts as the bank has now tied up with ripple.
Official announcement:
The official announcement was made on June 26. Kotak Mahindra Bank clearly stated that it will be using the ripple net in order to initiate the cross-border payments. The exact protocol which will be used is the xCurrent protocol. This will ensure that the consumers will be able to settle the cross-border payments in real time. As a result, it will become much easier for them to send money anywhere around the world.
In the year 2017-18, the number of remittances which were received by India was 69 billion USD. This clearly indicates that the remittance market is pretty huge in India. Also, the amount of money which was sent outside was around $ 8.2 billion. This is increasing at a rapid pace and rose to $ 11.3 billion in the year 2017-18. That is a growth of 38%. This clearly indicates that the remittance market in India is growing at a very fast pace.
With the help of xCurrent, the bank will be able to not only reduce the cost of remittances but also, they will be able to reduce the time for the settlement of the payment. As a result, it will become easier for them to offer real-time services to their customers. With the help of such real-time services, it will become easier for them to gain more customers which are interested in doing the cross-border payments.
Other banks on the move:
There are already a few banks which are using xCurrent protocol for remittances in and out of India. These banks include Axis Bank and IndusInd. Thus, Kotak Mahindra Bank is not the 1st bank which is adopting the xCurrent protocol. However, with one more bank using the xCurrent protocol, it surely increases the credibility of ripple protocol as well as xCurrent protocol significantly.
With that being said, it remains to be seen in the future, how many banks come aboard when it comes to using the xCurrent and ripple protocol.
