Ripple rose 10 percent Thursday after news that its San Francisco-based startup has partnered with global money transfer company MoneyGram to utilize its blockchain technology.
The pilot run will see MoneyGram using XRP to introduce blockchain-enabled cross-border payments. MoneyGram will tap Ripple’s on-demand liquidity product, xRapid, to make blockchain payments commercially available, reducing the time and cost of settlement, while maintaining the level of security.
MoneyGram customers making payments on its international platform will have access to Ripple’s new enterprise solution, which enables real-time FX settlement through its cryptocurrency, XRP. xRapid will become a feature in Ripple’s partnerships with banks and other financial companies further down the line, as it gives these institutions the ability to unlock liquidity and access multiple corridors with one pre-funded originating account.
Ripple said that it has tested xRapid as a means of speeding up payments, and that it would reduce money transfer fees whilst allowing senders/receivers to have real-time insight into the status of their payments.
Several trials have allegedly been conducted with great success. Transfers that used to take days will be completed in real-time, providing instant, trackable, cross-border payments.
Ripple suggested that the blockchain project could eventually be extended worldwide. The company said in a tweet last week that three of the top five money transfer companies worldwide will be implementing Ripple’s XRP token in their payment flow systems in 2018.
Ripple’s MoneyGram partnership fits in nicely with its big plan to become the crypto payment solution of choice not just on the web, but also through brick-and-mortar transfer providers.
In addition to this recent news, there was an announcement earlier last month that several Japanese credit card providers and South Korean banks are testing Ripple’s systems for cross-border payments.
Commenting on this, Alex Holmes, CEO of MoneyGram, said: “Ripple is at the forefront of blockchain technology and we look forward to piloting xRapid. We’re hopeful it will increase efficiency and improve services to MoneyGram’s customers.”
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, added: “The payments problem doesn’t just affect banks, it also affects companies like MoneyGram, which help people get money to the ones they care about. By using a digital asset like XRP that settles in three seconds or less, our clients can move money as quickly as information.”
(Photo: pixabay)
