Ripple Improves Access to India with Kotak Mahindra Bank

Growth in the banking sector has skyrocketed: 80% of adults have a bank account in India, a figure that has more than doubled since 2011. India has also been the largest receiver of remittances over the last several years, with some $69 billion flowing into the country in 2017.

The data is clear. Indian financial institutions are a critical hub for both the citizens in their country and the greater global economy.

With this in mind, Ripple established a Mumbai office in 2017 and aggressively began partnering with financial institutions across the country to improve access to services for consumers and businesses, alike.

We’re able to do this through RippleNet, a decentralized network of payment providers and banks that connect to each other through our technology. And, today we’re pleased to share the newest addition to RippleNet: Kotak Mahindra Bank — a leading bank in India with over 1300 branches.

Kotak will use xCurrent to power instant remittance payments into the country. The bank’s customers will be able to settle cross-border payments with end-to-end tracking while slashing time on payments from days to minutes, all at a lower cost.

Kotak joins other major banks in the region on RippleNet. In November, Axis Bank went live using xCurrent and in February of this year IndusInd announced they would join the RippleNet community.

In addition to improving services, all these banks are looking to connect through RippleNet to members outside India, helping expand their own remittance operations. This trend is increasing across payment providers and banks inside and outside of the country — further underscoring the mounting opportunity in remittances to India from around the world.

Most importantly, improving remittances services into and out of India means less fees and more money for families who rely on those funds that are sent home.