SBI Remit and SBI Shinsei Bank have announced a new customer referral agreement to improve international money transfer services.
Yoshitaka Kitao, President & CEO of SBI Holdings, Inc., called attention to this latest collaboration in a tweet on Monday.
The partnership between these two prominent entities within Japan’s financial landscape will enhance the speed and cost-effectiveness of remittances for their customers.
Notably, the initiative commenced last Friday, January 31. It focuses on delivering a seamless transfer experience for individuals and businesses looking to send money abroad.
SBI新生銀行とSBIレミットによる国際送金サービス提携開始について［SBIレミット, SBI新生銀行］ https://t.co/nqhhBKapQf
— 北尾吉孝 (@yoshitaka_kitao) February 3, 2025
Leveraging Ripple and XRP Technology
SBI Remit, a subsidiary of SBI Japan, has been a leading international remittance service provider since 2010. It has secured a reputation for adopting innovative financial technologies to streamline its services.
In particular, the company utilizes Ripple’s distributed ledger technology, which employs XRP to ensure fast and low-cost cross-border payments.
This technology has been a cornerstone of SBI Remit’s operations. It has helped it remain at the forefront of remittance services by offering secure and efficient money transfers.
In September 2023, SBI Remit launched an XRP-based international remittance service, initially targeting bank accounts in Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
Notably, the move was in partnership with Ripple and SBI Ripple Asia. It sought to reduce remittance costs and improve scalability by using XRP as a bridge currency.
In particular, this service enabled faster and cheaper cross-border payments, benefiting regions with high remittance inflows.
At the time, SBI Remit disclosed plans to expand the service to more countries and include corporate and inbound transactions in the future.
New Collaboration with SBI Shinsei Bank
Notably, SBI Shinsei Bank actively engages in projects like Project Agora, led by the Bank for International Settlements and global central banks.
The initiative enhances cross-border transactions through tokenization to streamline international remittance operations. Notably, Shinsei Bank intends to leverage the SBI Group’s collaboration for more efficient business operations.
According to the 2022 Swift News report from Sibos, 56% of small and medium-sized enterprises worldwide that conduct international remittances rely on fintech companies alongside banks.
For context, this trend suggests that future international remittance operations in Japan may see more partnerships between banks and money transfer companies.
Looking ahead, SBI Shinsei Bank and SBI Remit plan to establish a model for collaboration between banks and money transfer providers.
They aim to expand services with a customer-first approach, growing their customer base and contributing to regional revitalization through partnerships with local financial institutions.
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