Cambodian lender SBI LY HOUR Bank has launched the first blockchain-based remittance services between Cambodia and Vietnam.
SBI LY HOUR Bank is providing the new services with Vietnamese lender TP Bank, in which its parent, SBI Holdings, has a stake, according to a report by the Phnom Penh Post.
The lender is the first commercial bank to be granted a license to offer international fund transfers using blockchain. It will transfer money between the two countries in real currency via RippleNet, provided by SBI Ripple Asia.
Bank customers in Cambodia have until now needed to wait two or three days to send or receive funds outside the country, but the new distributed ledger technology will allow customers to send or receive funds in real-time.
SBI LY HOUR Bank CEO Soeurng Uth said, “Customers will be able to quickly transfer out via our bank partnerships. This connection allows customers who have a Bakong account — the mobile payment system initiated by the National Bank of Cambodia — to instantly make fund transfers into their account.”
The bank said it would explore markets beyond Vietnam to meet demand for similar services.
