MoneyGram to Offer Direct Deposits in India Via Federal Bank; Both Members of RippleNet

MoneyGram will now offer direct deposits to India following its partnership with Federal Bank, one of the leading financial institutions in the country. According to a recent announcement by the payment system service provider, this alliance will be strategic in offering its Indian clients an account credit option via the Federal Bank. The MoneyGram announcement reads,

“Through this partnership, millions will be able to receive deposits directly in their bank accounts without leaving the confines of their homes which is imperative in the current situation.”

As highlighted, this milestone is expected to further assist in COVID-19 mitigation following the ‘new normal'. Most economies have moved towards e-payment networks in a bid to keep the virus at bay. Given this situation, the alliance between MoneyGram and Federal Bank is especially important.

Furthermore, World bank stats indicate that India continues to dominate the global remittance market with 2019 recording over $82 billion. Notably, Federal bank enjoys 15% of this market and is therefore expected to significantly boost the partnership. MoneyGram's Chief Revenue Officer, Grant Lines, echoed that they are confident of the value proposition by Federal Bank,

“Federal Bank is known throughout India as a pioneer in digitizing financial services, and we’re proud to partner with them to enable millions of people the option to receive money directly into their bank account.”

MoneyGram's Venture in Ripple for International Remittances

Ripple, popularly known for its remittances service based on RippleNet, had already began working with MoneyGram. The two got into a partnership back in June 2019 which spiked hopes of MoneyGram leveraging a blockchain based platform for its payment services. This is, however, yet to happen despite the market adrenaline at the time.

In a recent Q1 earnings call, the CEO of MoneGram, Alexander Holmes, said that the quarter had been quite slow for the partnership. Nonetheless, they have some work in progress and boasted of the future prospects,

“We also have a variety of new services in the pipeline and things that we'll be rolling out, and expanding with later this year…. But from a capability perspective from a service quality and from a performance, it's been a really good — been a really good quarter.”