Jeel, the innovation and technology arm of Riyad Bank, has announced a strategic partnership with Ripple, a leading financial technology company specializing in crypto solutions for businesses. The collaboration is set to explore advanced applications of blockchain technology to develop more secure, efficient, and transparent financial services across Saudi Arabia.
Driving Vision 2030’s Fintech Goals
This partnership directly supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 agenda, which emphasizes digital transformation and the cultivation of a competitive fintech ecosystem. The core aim is to evaluate how blockchain can significantly enhance the speed, cost-effectiveness, and transparency of cross-border payments.
Beyond remittances, the collaboration will also delve into potential use cases for digital asset custody and tokenization, laying the groundwork for future-ready financial infrastructure that meets both regulatory and operational standards.
A Sandbox for Next-Generation Finance
A key component of the partnership will involve the joint development of proofs-of-concept within Jeel’s regulatory sandbox. This controlled, compliant environment will allow for the rigorous testing of Ripple’s enterprise-grade technologies, demonstrating their potential to build a scalable and interoperable digital financial infrastructure for the Kingdom.
“This partnership with Ripple reflects our strategy of using the Jeel Sandbox to responsibly explore next-generation financial infrastructure,” said George Harrak, CEO of Jeel. “By combining regulated experimentation with global blockchain expertise, we are building the foundations to evaluate scalable use cases that enhance cross-border payments and digital asset capabilities in line with the Kingdom’s long-term digital ambitions.”
A Strategic Alliance for Innovation
The collaboration offers significant strategic value to both organizations. For Jeel, it reinforces its position as a pioneer in regulated blockchain experimentation and expands its innovation capabilities. It also aligns with Riyad Bank’s ambition to evaluate and adopt next-generation digital financial services. For Ripple, the partnership provides strategic access to Saudi Arabia’s rapidly growing fintech landscape through Jeel’s established institutional network and sandbox.
“Saudi Arabia’s visionary leadership has established the Kingdom as a forward-thinking global hub for digital transformation,” said Reece Merrick, Managing Director, Middle East and Africa at Ripple. “It is against this progressive backdrop that Ripple has signed an MOU with Jeel to explore integrating secure, efficient blockchain solutions into the national financial architecture. We are committed to demonstrating how Ripple’s enterprise-grade digital assets technology can unlock significant efficiencies in areas like cross-border payments, aligning directly with Saudi Arabia’s goal of building a world-leading, competitive fintech ecosystem.”
About Jeel
Jeel is a technology ecosystem provider and accelerator reshaping the financial industry through innovative, compliant, and customer-centric solutions. With a unique model that combines local expertise with global insight, Jeel empowers banks, fintechs, and businesses to embrace digital transformation quickly and confidently.
About Ripple
Ripple is a financial technology company that offers crypto solutions for businesses. Its services include Ripple Payments for faster cross-border transactions, Ripple Custody for secure digital asset management, and Ripple Prime, a multi-asset prime brokerage for institutional customers. Ripple leverages its stablecoin (RLUSD) and the cryptocurrency XRP to enhance efficiency in traditional finance.
Source: Zawya
