Spanish banking group Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) has announced the completion of a international money transfer with Ripple’s new Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).
The transaction was run on BBVA’s infrastructure with real money to transfer funds between Spain and Mexico.
BBVA claims that it took place within a matter of seconds. At present, transfers between countries takes up to four days to clear.
The bank said that the technology could help in improving customer experience in transactions within the Latin American corridors.
The new technology not only speeds up transactions from days to few seconds, but clients can also get access to clear information about the costs associated with the process and will be able to see their payments’ status all the time.
According to the lender, the cryptographic properties of Ripple’s blockchain network, which creates permanent records of operations, enable the faster execution of the transaction.
The parties involved in the transaction can gain access to to all the payment-related information by using integrated messaging and settlement.
BBVA also said that the application developed with Ripple shows how international payments could function in the future.
BBVA Investment Banking, Digital Transformation head Alicia Pertusa said: “This pioneer initiative is a clear demonstration of how payment processes can be vastly improved through the implementation of emerging technologies. These improvements will benefit our clients’ transactionality.”
Ripple Strategic Accounts global head Marcus Treacher said: “We are very excited that BBVA, one of the most tech-forward banks in the world, has joined the Ripple network to transform their cross-border payments.
“While others are content to merely experiment with blockchain, BBVA is working with us to move real money and in doing so, will establish the future new level of service for their customers.”
Presently, BBVA is also working on several projects based on blockchain technology to understand its potential and to explore the possibilities, which could potentially transform the financial sector in the near future.
Image: BBVA completes international transaction between Spain and Mexico. Photo: Courtesy of Luis García (Zaqarbal)/Wikipedia.