Chinese regulators, banks, and payment providers are reportedly set to carry out a test of Ripple’s settlement solution, xCurrent, in a bid to improve payment infrastructure and enable financial institutions to instantly settle cross-border payments with end-to-end tracking.
A recent statement by Ripple reflects its plans to expand in China by the end of the year. The company has been carrying out tests related to payment transactions and settlements using its blockchain-powered solutions.
“This year you will see more announcements coming in on China, in terms of educating and differentiating us from some of the other cryptocurrencies that are out there,” Ripple’s head of government and regulatory relations for Asia Pacific Sagar Sarbhai said. “As we speak, our team is strategizing about entering the market, but it’s still very early days.”
“We’re trying to get some regulatory clarity, we’ve started engaging informally with banks, FIs and payment providers, speaking to regulators and government bodies, trying to educate on what Ripple is and what our vision is,” he added.
Ripple already has live clients in a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, India, and Thailand. Last month, it has also announced a partnership with Chinese payment provider LianLian International to implement its blockchain solution, xCurrent, to materialize cross-border payments in and out of China.
However, China is strict in terms of regulations and recently issued a ban on all activities involving cryptocurrencies. After clamping down on the domestic trading of virtual coins, the Chinese government now looks to close the few remaining loopholes in order to entirely restrict its citizens from trading cryptocurrencies or participating in ICOs held abroad.
Although Ripple is regularly grouped together with other cryptocurrencies, its purpose is different as it also operates a decentralized payment settlement solution for banks and financial institutions that is fast and scalable.
“Built for enterprise use, XRP offers banks and payment providers a reliable, on demand option to source liquidity for cross-border payments,” the firm often describes its offering.
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