MoneyGram Enters the Indian Remittances Market 

Fresh off an investment flurry powered by Ripple, MoneyGram, one of the largest payment processors in the world, has announced its expansion into India. 

Earlier today, the company announced in a press release that it had partnered with EbixCash- a subsidiary of Ebix Inc.- to provide its revolutionary financial services across India. The move will see the firm have access to all 320,000 distribution outlets owned by EbixCash in India, as well as exposure to about 4,000 cities and nearly 675,000 rural settings in the country. 

We've recently entered into an agreement with @EbixCash to expand our presence in India making it our exclusive money transfer partner in the country. We will now be able to reach more customers through @EbixCash's 320,000 distribution outlets. https://t.co/1SftyEnUV4

— MoneyGram (@MoneyGram) January 13, 2020

Greener Pastures for MoneyGram to Operate 

In the press release, MoneyGram explained that customers would be able to use its services to send money to over 200 countries and territories. The company is also expecting to service well over $3 billion in remittance volumes, while EbixCash is expecting to see up to $35 million in revenues thanks to the new partnership. 

In the release, Grant Lines, MoneyGram’s Chief Revenue Officer, said, “India remains the world’s top recipient of remittances, and we’re excited to better serve this critical market through our partnership with EbixCash, a leading brand with an approximate 80 percent share of locations in the country.”

The move is marking the first major international expansion for MoneyGram since it announced that Ripple had completed a $50 million move to acquire 10 percent of its shares. However, it’s a major one nonetheless. As Lines noted, India is the highest remittance marker, and the World Bank revealed that the country got $79 billion in remittances al through 2018- China, which came in second, was at a rather distant $67 billion.

'Deal will give moneygram access to co's franchise network', says @RobinRaina_RRF, Chairman, @EbixCash on the co signing an agreement with global money transfer & payment services player @MoneyGram to expand presence in India to @PriyaSheth7. pic.twitter.com/gQveo5tTXD

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) January 13, 2020

The largesse of the Indian market means that it’s a big enough ground for several industry players to thrive, and MoneyGram is entering at an opportune time. 

It’s also exciting for Ripple as well. Although it wasn’t mentioned in the release, it is expected that this move will see Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) product available to Indian customers as well. The opportunity to enter the largest remittance market in the world is an attractive one, and Ripple will be more than happy to seize the opportunity for growth. 

Ripple Partners with the SCB 

Ripple itself has been making some significant progress over time as well. Last week, the company partnered with the Siam Commercial Bank (SCB)- the oldest banking institution in Thailand- to create a blockchain-powered mobile app that will provide low-cost cross-border payment services to customers.

As a press release from the company stated, the app- which has been dubbed SCB Easy- was presented to attendees last month at Swell, Ripple’s annual customer event. Arthit Sriumporin, the Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking at the SCB, showed a demo on stage, where he sent a payment to a recipient’s bank account in less than 40 seconds. 

“It is so difficult to send and receive money today. People must physically go to a bank branch, fill out long and complicated forms, and wait for payments to be received—with no transparency. With our service, their loved ones from abroad can transfer payment and receive money immediately,” he said on stage. 

The bank will also be working with Ripple to offer cross-border EMVCo QR payments. As Ripple explained, there’s a surge in QR payment popularity across Asia, and by leveraging on that, they can help the SCB to provide micro-payment services to customers as well.