Central Saudi signs a technology agreement series with the American Ripple

The Saudi central bank has signed an agreement with the US firm Ripple to help banks in the kingdom settle payments using the cluster series program as regulators in the Gulf are exploring new forms of financial technology.

The company said in a statement issued on Wednesday evening that the pilot program is the first of its kind launched by a central bank and allows banks in the Kingdom to use the Ripel program for immediate settlement of payments sent to and from abroad.

This will allow Saudi banks to execute foreign transactions faster, cheaper and more transparent, Ribel said, adding that the central bank will provide training to Saudi banks interested in the program.

Most regulators in the Gulf initially expressed skepticism about financial technology. Last year, the Saudi central bank warned citizens against trading currencies because they were beyond the reach of banking regulators.

But Bahrain, keen to strengthen its position as a regional financial center, is exploring the use of digital currencies. In the past few months regulators in some of the Gulf's largest economies have done the same.

UAE Central Bank Governor Mubarak Rashid al-Mansouri told Reuters in December that the Saudi central bank was working with its UAE counterpart to issue a digital currency that would be acceptable in cross-border transactions between the two countries.

Earlier this week, the Abu Dhabi Global Financial Services Regulatory Authority (ADSM) said it could set rules for the Forex market.

Article Credit: https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=11148
(Special thanks to Charles Bright)