Ripple continues to expand its reach, having surpassed more than 100 members with the addition of five international financial institutions. Now joining RippleNet are banks Itaú Unibanco (Brazil) and IndusInd (India) as well as remittance providers InstaReM (Singapore), Beetech (Brazil) and Zip Remit (Canada).
With RippleNet, these institutions will be able to facilitate payments both into and out of emerging, global markets. Recently, the company had partnered with major Chinese payment provider Lianlian. The enterprise blockchain solution for global payments is spreading through emerging markets, home to 85 percent of the global population and nearly 90 percent of people under 30.
These countries are some of the world’s largest remittance markets. In 2017, India saw a total $65 billion move into the country, while China saw $61 billion. Brazil saw over $600 million settle into banks and money transfer services from the United States.
Ripple lowers both costs and transfer times for financial institutions’ customers, which is crucial in developing countries where financial flexibility is limited.
InstaReM processes over 500,000 transactions per year and connects businesses and individuals from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, and India to over 60 countries worldwide. Prajit Nanu, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of InstaReM, said: “We are pleased to partner with RippleNow, RippleNet members will be able to process a large number of payouts in Southeast Asian countries through InstaReM’s secure rails.”
Patrick Griffin, Head of Business Development at Ripple, said: “The payments problem is a global problem, but its negative impact disproportionally affects emerging markets. Whether it’s a teacher in the U.S. sending money home to his family in Brazil or a small business owner in India trying to move money to open up a second store in another country, it’s imperative that we connect the world’s financial institutions into a payments system that works for their customers, not against them.”
In November 2017, Ripple gained renewed attention by appointing BitLicense architect Benjamin Lawsky to the Board of Directors. Since then, the price of XRP shot up towards the $3.65 high in January 2018.
