- Ripple has partnered with the National Bank of Egypt to power cross-border transfers between the North African nation and the UAE.
- The partnership will greatly benefit both parties as Egypt is one of the top five nations in terms of remittance received.
Ripple has partnered with the largest bank in Egypt to power cross-border remittances. The National Bank of Egypt will connect with a UAE-based financial services provider, allowing the millions of Egyptians working in the Middle Eastern country to send money back home seamlessly on RIppleNet.
Ripple announced the partnership today via a blog post. The San Francisco company will facilitate the remittances through RippleNet between the Egyptian bank and LuLu International Exchange, a UAE financial services company that deals primarily in foreign exchange and global money transfer.
We are proud to announce our partnership with Ripple and the National Bank Of Egypt to enhance real-time payments from UAE to Egypt that are faster and more affordable than ever before. Step into any of our 83 branches in the UAE to know more. #ripple #luluexchange @Ripple pic.twitter.com/xTGGZ18NLt
— LuLu Exchange (@LuLuExchange) May 19, 2021
The partnership will allow the two companies to facilitate remittances from Gulf states, including the UAE, to the North African country. Egypt ranks in the top five in remittances received globally. In 2020, it received the fifth-highest remittances with $24.4 billion, just behind India, China, Mexico and the Philippines. Remittances play a big part in the country’s economy, accounting for 6.7 percent of the GDP.
However, despite the great impact remittances make in Egypt, they are still inherently slow and quite expensive. The Egyptian bank is seeking to change this, and it’s banking on Ripple.
Hesham Elsafty, the group head for international financial services at the bank remarked:
Egypt ranks amongst the top five countries worldwide in terms of remittances received from its overseas expatriate communities. Given the important role remittances play in the Egyptian economy, the National Bank of Egypt is continuously aiming to develop and enhance the infrastructure which pertains to this line of business.
Ripple continues to onboard partners
The partnership with NBE and LuLu Exchange is the latest for Ripple. Despite being involved in a court battle with the SEC, the blockchain company has continued to attract partners globally who want to use RippleNet to ease cross-border transfers. On the legal front, it has stood its ground that XRP is not a security and by all indications, it’s getting the better of SEC.
In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Ripple has been especially successful. It has already partnered with banks in Kuwait, UAE and Oman. In addition, it has also teamed up with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), which is the country’s central bank, to power transactions for the country’s financial institutions.
Navin Gupta, the managing director of South Asia and MENA at Ripple remarked:
The ability to send and receive money quickly, reliably and inexpensively today plays a larger role than ever before. Ripple is proud to partner with NBE and LuLu Exchange to bolster the MENA region’s financial infrastructure and provide a frictionless cross-border payments experience for the Egyptian community.
