Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), one of Thailand’s big five banks, has launched a stablecoin solution for cross border payments, including remittances. The project graduated from the Bank of Thailand regulatory sandbox in October 2024.
The bank partnered with SCB 10X, its venture and innovation arm, and Singapore fintech Lightnet for the launch with custody technology provided by Fireblocks. We’ve requested details about the public blockchain and stablecoins being used, but didn’t receive a response in time for publication.
Cross border payments usually require banks to have pre-funded Nostro accounts at the destination. Using stablecoins this may not be needed. Plus stablecoin transfers are very inexpensive and can happen 24/7.
“By leveraging blockchain technology and stablecoins, we are making cross-border remittances more efficient, reliable, and accessible for everyone,” said Thanawatn Kittisuwan, First EVP & Head of Digital Juristic & Payment at SCB.
Initially the solution targets consumers, but now SCB plans to work on offering it to corporate customers. The big three Japanese banks are looking to do something similar for cross border payments, but they hide the use of stablecoins. Hence, clients initiate bank payments in the usual way.
SCB Tech X also participated in a Hedera DLT stablecoin trial that involved other banks, including Korea’s Shinhan Bank, a Taiwanese Bank, and South Africa’s Standard Bank as an observer.
We identified 21 bank linked stablecoin projects in our recently released report on bank stablecoins, tokenized deposits and DLT payments.
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