The availability of the Ripple ODL option in Japan means customers of RippleNet can leverage the digital asset XRP to eliminate pre-funding and reduce operational costs.
In a move to accelerate and grow cross-border payments, Ripple, the leading provider of enterprise blockchain and cryptocurrency solutions for global payments, has announced the launch of its first-ever live On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service implementation in Japan.
The new payment corner was launched in collaboration with the largest money transfer provider in Japan, SBI Remit Co., Ltd and one of the leading mobile wallet services in the Philippines, Coins.ph.
This partnership, which is a landmark one, follows on from Ripple’s expansion in Asia after acquiring a 40% stake in cross-border payments firm Tranglo in March.
It is also part of the company’s efforts to tap the almost $2 billion a year remittance market between Japan and the Philippines through the use of its on-demand liquidity (ODL) service.
Through this partnership, SBI Remit can connect with Coins.ph and digital asset exchange platform SBI VC Tradeon RippleNet for faster and more affordable cross-border payments from Japan to the Philippines.
The availability of the Ripple ODL option in Japan means customers of RippleNet can leverage the digital asset XRP to eliminate pre-funding and reduce operational costs and unlock capital and fuel the expansion of their payments businesses.
“The expansion of our relationship with SBI Remit to kickstart RippleNets ODL service in Japan marks a major milestone in one of our largest markets. SBI Remit has been a leader when it comes to embracing new technology to deliver the best customer experience,” said Asheesh Birla, General Manager of RippleNet at Ripple.
She noted that the company is excited to partner with forward-looking companies like SBI that see the value in blockchain technology and to support them in preparing for a crypto-enabled future.
Similarly, Nobuo Ando, the Representative Director of SBI Remit, said the company sees tremendous potential in leveraging blockchain technology to transform not only the way payment transactions are made but in how they manage business by unlocking trapped capital.
“The launch of ODL in Japan is just the start, and we look forward to continuing to push into the next frontier of financial innovation, beyond real-time payments in just the Philippines, but to other parts of the region as well,” Nobuo noted.
Since the partnership is driven by long-term growth trends of foreign workers and cross-border e-commerce in Japan, there is an expected increase in low-value, high-frequency remittances.
The Filipino diaspora, for example, is currently the third-largest in Japan – in 2020, remittance flows from Japan to the Philippines sent by overseas Filipino workers totaled approximately 1.8 billion U.S. dollars.
On top of that, Japan has one of the highest cross-border payment fees in the world. According to The World Bank, remitting from Japan incurs an average cost of 10.5%, while the average cost of sending remittances from G8 countries is 5.92%.
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