Mubasher: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) has signed a partnership agreement with financial technology company Ripple, according to a press release on Thursday.

Under this partnership, instant cross-border payments will be available for ABK’s customers inside and outside Kuwait.

As part of the bank’s digital transformation strategy and being an early adopter of this technology, ABK will be one of the few financial institutions in Kuwait to reduce transaction times to be executed within few minutes instead of taking days.

The bank said it will integrate Ripple’s enterprise blockchain technology into its current services to offer immediate confirmations within secure infrastructure, the press release said.

Following this agreement, ABK’s customers will be able to send vital funds to faster and more efficiently.

ABK will join Ripple’s network “RippleNet”, a decentralised global network of banks and payment providers.

“This growing network aims at enabling an “internet of value”, allowing customers from different banks, to make payments globally with speed and assurance of receipt. The partnership will give ABK access to other “RippleNet” members, enabling the Bank to grow its cross-border payments business,” ABK said in the statement.

In November 2018, Ripple said it was planning to open a new office in the UAE, according to Arabian Business.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) last February signed an agreement with blockchain firm Ripple, in cooperation with a number of local banks, to use the company’s remittance technology.