The bank partnered with other blockchain tech companies in Bangladesh and Malaysia to make the project happen
Standard Chartered, in partnership with bKash of Bangladesh and Valyou of Malaysia, announced the launch of the first blockchain-based cross-border remittance service in Bangladesh today.
While it is still in the final stages of commercial testing, it is expected to be available to customers in Bangladesh and Malaysia soon.
The service will facilitate instant transfers from expatriates based in Malaysia, and will be powered by blockchain technology from Ant Group.
In a press release by the bank, it is further explained that Bangladeshi expats in Malaysia will be able to send wage remittances, through Valyou, to a beneficiary within Bangladesh who is a bKash wallet user.
Standard Chartered will be the service’s fund settlement bank and regulatory approval holder.
The CEO of Standard Chartered Bank in Bangladesh, Naser Ezaz Bijoy, highlighted the importance of remittances in the nation’s economy. The service, which will be available on their mobile phones around the clock, makes remitting to their home country simpler, faster and more convenient.
“We hope this new service will benefit the end-users and contribute to the growing utilization of formal remittance channels,” Bijoy said.
Meanwhile, the CEO of bKash Ltd, Kamal Quadir, explained that Malaysia is one of Bangladesh’s biggest remittance earner hubs, pointing out the strategic positioning of the service between the two countries. With this new service, recipients of remittances now have the option to cash out from 240,000 nearby agent points across the country and gain access to a variety of other bKash services as well.
“This partnership will give seamless remittance sending experience to the Bangladeshi expatriates there who can now send money from their digital wallets in Malaysia to a bKash account in Bangladesh through Standard Chartered Bank,” Quadir said.
The CEO of Valyou Sdn Bhd, Prasanna Rao, added that customers have a wide variety of cash-in and cash-out services available in the country, with a growing network of 1,300 merchants offering these services.
“Valyou has always been in the forefront of adopting new technology aimed to enhance customer efficiency. We believe that this blockchain technology integration will save cost and time without compromising safety and security of the remittance transaction sent from Valyou to bKash.”
A few weeks back, it was reported that Standard Chartered successfully conducted Bangladesh’s first blockchain trade transaction on August 16. The transaction was between the garment exporter Viyellatex and Viyellatex Spinning on the Contour blockchain network, and was paperless from start to finish.