Riyadh – Mubasher: The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) on Sunday said that it has signed an agreement with blockchain firm Ripple, in cooperation with a number of local banks, to use the company’s remittance technology.

This technology helps speed up payments among countries, in addition to reducing their cost, Al Arabiya News reported.

SAMA added that a slew of banks operating in the kingdom would take part in the initial experience of the cutting-edge technology.

Saudi Arabia's central bank reiterated that the agreement does not include the digital currencies of the bitcoin-rival or acquiring a stake in it.

SAMA reaffirmed that the oil-rich kingdom does not recognise digital currencies in the country and does not monitor dealings in such digital tokens.