Axis Bank launches Ripple-powered instant payment service for retail and corporate customers

Mumbai, November 22, 2017: Axis Bank, India’s third-largest private sector bank, has launched instant international payment services using Ripple’s enterprise blockchain technology solution.

The bank has launched a service for its retail customers in India to receive payments from RakBank in UAE and for its corporate customers in India to receive payments from Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.

Ripple makes international remittances faster and transparent for customers while ensuring security and improving efficiencies. The transactions reach their destination account in minutes, with certainty of settlement, and with end-to-end visibility over the journey of the payment.

Himadri Chatterjee, President, Transaction Banking, Axis Bank, said, “While there have been significant innovations in domestic payments, cross border remittance has seen limited developments. Using APIs and distributed ledger technology, there is an opportunity to radically change the way international payments are handled. We are excited with the potential the technology has to bring innovative services to the market and help us enhance value to our customers.”

Gautam Jain, Global Head, Digitization and Client Access, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered, said, “The successful launch of our commercial cross-border payment service marks a significant milestone in the financial industry’s progress in applying distributed ledger technology for corporates. We are incredibly proud to be leading the way in this area. This affirms our commitment to digitization and innovation as we continuously look at new ways to add value for our clients and their ecosystems; in this case, corporates trading between Singapore and India.”

Peter England, RAKBANK CEO, said: “We at RAKBANK believe in leveraging new technologies that constantly enhance our customer experience and by using Ripple’s Blockchain solution to power international payments, our customers can now send money home easily and in real time. Joining the Ripple network is in line with not only our Blockchain strategy, but it also allows us to expand our remittance footprint. This will help us scale our business and provide our customers with a first-class digital payments experience.”