Federal Bank and LuLu Exchange Launch Technology Backed Services for NRIs

Mumbai, March 29, 2019: Federal Bank has announced the launch of two cutting edge technology remittance variants to their bouquet of facilities enabled through partner exchange houses and banks for making remittance to India. Federal Bank upgraded the initial Blockchain platform for remittances which was launched in December 2017 with a sophisticated technology which uses the R3 Corda Blockchain platform developed in partnership with an Indian fintech company M/s Digiledge. The new easy-to-plug-in platform enables exchange houses and banks in the Middle East to connect their existing solutions to make seamless, real-time transactions. The platform offers high level of security due to the distributed architecture and use of advanced cryptographic algorithms. Lulu Exchange, one of the leading financial services company with more than 180 branches worldwide, has gone live with this upgraded cross border remittance platform. The Bank has also launched a platform for Non-Resident Indians to send money through Exchange Houses and Banks using an easy to remember Virtual Payment Address (VPA) of the beneficiary. The platform which rides on the capabilities of UPI 2.0 – the upgrade of the Unified Payment Interface by National Payment Corporation of India – allows customers to make remittances to India using a virtual payment address (VPA) instead of the usual account number and IFSC currently used to send money to India. VPA also provides the advantage of instantly verifying the beneficiary before sending money, thereby avoiding wrong credits and rejections. In a joint meeting held at the Lulu Exchange Head Office in Abu Dhabi, Mr. Adeeb Ahamed, MD of Lulu Exchange and Mr. Shyam Srinivasan, MD & CEO of Federal Bank successfully made the first transaction using the new platform. “We are delighted to partner with Federal Bank to roll out the enhanced Blockchain technology and VPA system. At LuLu Exchange, we have always embraced innovative technology that gives rise to new products and services that enhances customer experience. We are sure these new integrations will ease the process and bring further operational efficiency,” said Mr. Adeeb Ahamed, MD, LuLu Exchange. Federal Bank has also entered into a partnership with Ripple Inc, a Blockchain supported global remittance company, for cross border remittance through its network. This partnership will help Federal Bank to explore new corridors where Ripple is aggressively pursuing new partnerships. In a meeting held today Mr. Shyam Srinivasan, Federal Bank MD & CEO and Mr. John Mitchell, Senior Vice President Ripple Inc, exchanged signed agreements for the partnership. Federal Bank, a pioneer in using advanced technology has also launched a new app targeting the NRI community to receive OTPs and alerts for transactions in their accounts with Federal Bank instantly and securely. The app solves the problem of delayed delivery of OTPs and alerts and it is available in both Android and iOS platforms. “For long Federal Bank has endeavored to bring our NR Clientele closer to their homes. Each of our digital offerings has been designed with this objective in mind. We are glad to partner with M/s Lulu exchange and M/s Ripple, as we know for sure that these partnerships will help us make Banking easier than ever for our NRI clients”, said Mr. Shyam Srinivasan, MD & CEO, Federal Bank.