Korean bank taps Ripple for cross-border business payments
A Korean bank taps Ripple for cross-border payments as South Korea’s Jeonbuk Bank deploys the firm’s remittance system for business customers, promising faster and cheaper transfers than SWIFT routes that can take several days. Pakistan has also opened a crypto licensing portal for virtual asset service providers.
Key Takeaways
- Jeonbuk Bank is partnering with Ripple to offer blockchain-based cross-border payments to business clients.
- Ripple says the service should be faster and less expensive than conventional SWIFT transfers that can take several days.
- Target users include import-export companies, technology startups and online content creators.
- Pakistan’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) has opened a licensing portal for exchanges and other VASPs.
- Firms offering virtual asset services on or before March 5 must apply for a no-objection certificate by Sept. 5 or cease operations.
What did Jeonbuk Bank announce with Ripple?
South Korea’s Jeonbuk Bank has teamed up with blockchain payments company Ripple to deploy a cross-border payment system aimed at corporate customers. According to Cointelegraph’s Asia Express, the bank wants to serve businesses that move money internationally on a regular basis.
That roster includes import-export companies, technology startups and online content creators—groups that often feel the drag of multi-day remittance rails. The partnership puts blockchain payment rails into Jeonbuk Bank’s remittance offering for commercial clients.
Readers following institutional crypto adoption can track related coverage in our Fintech & Crypto Alerts hub.
Why does a Korean bank tapping Ripple matter for remittances?
Traditional cross-border wires often pass through intermediary banks on the SWIFT messaging network and can take several days to settle. Ripple says its system would give Jeonbuk Bank faster and less expensive remittance capabilities than those conventional routes.
For businesses shipping goods, paying overseas contractors or collecting creator income, settlement speed and cost affect cash flow. A Korean bank tapping Ripple for payments shows lenders testing blockchain rails for everyday commercial transfers.
The Asia Express roundup also notes that Asia’s biggest crypto hubs are locked in a tax-cut arms race, with Singapore unveiling fund-manager tax exemptions as Hong Kong cuts its own rates. That backdrop helps explain why payment and licensing news across the region is moving in parallel.
How does Pakistan’s crypto licensing window fit Asia’s regulatory push?
Pakistan’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority has opened its licensing portal for crypto exchanges and other virtual asset service providers. Companies that were providing virtual asset services on or before March 5 must submit an application for a no-objection certificate by Sept. 5 or cease operations, according to the PVARA licensing website.
PVARA said on LinkedIn that the window creates “a clear pathway for businesses to enter Pakistan’s regulated virtual asset market, with defined standards for consumer protection, governance, compliance and market integrity.” Together with Jeonbuk Bank’s Ripple deal, the message from Asia is practical: banks are wiring blockchain into remittances while regulators formalize who may operate.