Ripple partners with Mobile Money, bKash to power Malaysia-Bangladesh remittances

By Sunniva Kolostyak

Blockchain firm Ripple has announced a partnership with Malaysian wallet Mobile Money, connecting it with Bangladeshi FinTech bKash through RippleNet.

By connecting to global payments network RippleNet, Mobile Money – a mobile wallet company – and bKash – a provider of mobile financial services to over 45 million users – will offer seamless wallet-to-wallet payments through a remittance corridor between Malaysia and Bangladesh.

Mutual Trust Bank (MTB) will work as the local banking partner in Bangladesh, performing the remittance settlement under Bangladesh Bank regulation while ensuring a seamless payout experience.

RippleNet leverages distributed ledger technology to deliver financial solutions including bi-directional messaging, settlement, liquidity management and lines of credit to a global network of partners.

Commenting on the partnership, Navin Gupta, Managing Director of South Asia and MENA at Ripple, said it will bring greater connectivity and convenience for the Bangladeshi population, and provide them with a more streamlined, frictionless cross-border payment experience.

“As Ripple is bolstering our presence in South Asia, we are excited to contribute to the infrastructure of the region to transform the way cross-border payments are executed,” Gupta said.

Bangladesh has the third-largest remittance flows in South Asia, and the eleventh largest worldwide, reaching an all-time high of $18.2 billion. Malaysia ranks as one of the top five sources of remittances for Bangladesh.

Through this partnership, Mobile Money is also anticipating an increase in its user base of Bangladeshi workers by 20 per cent as it enables them to better serve their user base.

Also commenting, Kamal Quadir, CEO of bKash, said: “We are constantly exploring innovative ways to give simple solutions to our customers. bKash is happy to have partnered with Ripple in collaboration with Mutual Trust Bank of Bangladesh to deliver a cost-effective, fast, transparent and reliable remittance sending experience to more than 10 million non-resident Bangladeshis all over the world.

“This partnership will bring great convenience to both the recipients and senders, and contribute further to our national economy by encouraging inward foreign remittance flow through legal channels.”

Lee Eng Sia, Founder of Mobile Money, added: “Our focus has always been on providing simple, cost-effective and convenient e-payment solutions to our customers. More than ever, the pandemic has demonstrated that there is a strong need for remittance solutions that enable people to transfer money anytime and anywhere. Our partnership with Ripple makes us one of the first few e-wallet companies to offer such digital remittance solutions to Bangladeshi workers, and we’re confident that it will enable us to stay ahead of the competition, while expanding our user base.”