Efforts By Major Banks Have Successfully Created Thailand-Singapore Blockchain Transfer

A joint move by leading banks in south-east Asia has successfully led to the creation of blockchain-powered cross-border fund transfers from Thailand to Singapore.

On Tuesday, Thailand’s Bank of Ayudhya also called Krungsri announced a successful pilot trial in relation to an international transfer from a domestic bank account to a Standard Chartered account in Singapore with the use of its own blockchain called the Krungsri Blockchain Ledger.

The effort involved leading Japanese multinational Mitsubishi Corporation, independent group company and Japan’s largest bank MUFG and Singapore-based banking giant Standard Chartered. The blockchain trial was carried under the direction of the Bank of Thailand’s regulatory sandbox.

In the trial, the bank states its blockchain made it possible for a transfer of funds from a Krungsri account owned by a Thailand-based Mitsubishi subordinate within “a matter of seconds.”

Krungsri, head of digital banking and innovation Thakorn Piyapan in a statement noted that:

“[T]he technology-based transaction helps enhance their subsidiaries’ financial liquidity toward greater flexibility and efficiency.”

Krungsri which is an exclusively owned subsidiary of MUFG is the latest Thai bank to effectively test blockchain technology for transfer before launching it. About a year ago, Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) joint forces with Japan’s SBI Remit to adopt a retail transfer bank service driven by Ripple’s blockchain tech. With an estimated 50,000 Thai nationals living and working in Japan, the transfer link between the two countries sees an estimated $250 million in transfers each year.