Ripple partners with LuLu to spread XRP-powered RippleNet
The initiative by Bank Alfalah will serve as a pilot for group rollout as Lulu Exchange has plans to bring forth similar partnerships involving RippleNet for cross-border payments in Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Singapore, and Malaysia.
LuLu Exchange, a major financial services provider based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has partnered with Pakistan-headquartered Bank Alfalah to use the RippleNet platform in order to enhance cross border remittance payments from the UAE to Pakistan.
The news comes as a major boost to the Pakistan payments corridor, the first of its kind for Pakistan. The XRP-powered platform is expected to enhance the speed and scale of cross-border transactions between the two countries.
The Pakistani diaspora in the United Arab Emirates constitutes 15% of the population, a figure that easily shows how badly needed is such a service.
Adeeb Ahamed, MD, LuLu Financial Group, commented: “Pakistan remains a key payments corridor for us, and we firmly believe that the partnership with Bank Alfalah and RippleNet will help foster new opportunities. By showing our commitment to strengthen the payment ecosystem from the UAE to Pakistan, we are determined to make the process of cross-border remittances more affordable and reliable for our consumers.”
Brooks Entwistle, Managing Director of RippleNet in APAC and MENA said: “We’re excited to partner with Bank Alfalah and long-standing customer Lulu International Exchange to bring faster, cheaper and more efficient cross-border payments to Pakistan. As one of the largest remittance markets, it is a critical partnership to bring more financial access and inclusion to the region. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Bank Alfalah and broadening our reach into new markets in the coming year.”
Atif Bajwa, President and CEO Bank Alfalah, added, “At Bank Alfalah, we continue to strive towards implementing the best and most sophisticated infrastructures that makes access to our banking services simpler for customers within Pakistan and abroad.” He also added, “The partnership with RippleNet will help us deepen our partnership with Lulu Exchange and strengthen the financial bridges between Pakistanis residing in the UAE and their families back home.”
Binance Singapore CEO is on the board of LuLu Exchange
The initiative by Bank Alfalah will serve as a pilot for a group rollout as Lulu Exchange has plans to bring forth similar partnerships involving RippleNet for cross-border payments in Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Singapore, and Malaysia.
LuLu Exchange has made great progress in terms of blockchain technology in recent years, with the presence of high-rank executives on the board of directors, including Richard Teng, who is a board member at the Blockchain Association Singapore and the Global Fintech Institute.
Richard Teng was CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) until March 2021. In August, he accepted Binance’s offer to become Chief Executive Officer of Binance Singapore.
The industry veteran has had a long career in financial markets and compliance, having spent more than a decade at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This, however, hasn’t prevented Binance from halting crypto trading and payments in the country two months ago.
The ban includes fiat deposit services, spot trading of cryptocurrencies, the purchase of cryptocurrencies through fiat channels, and liquid swap.
As Ripple continues to expand its footprint in the Middle East, international law firm Jones Day has recently published an analysis regarding U.S. enforcement on digital assets and providing 5 lessons to market participants, mostly stemming from the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit.
