Currencies Direct, a UK-based foreign exchange broker and international payment provider, has successfully completed an international payment over Ripple’s xRapid platform using XRP.
Currencies Direct followed the lead of Banco Santander in the pursuit of offering its customers fast and inexpensive international transactions. Santander was the earliest major retail use case of blockchain technology in the banking system as it rolled out ‘the ‘same day mobile international payments in 3 clicks and 40 seconds using distributed ledger technology’.
The adoption of Ripple’s xRapid platform for international payments marks a departure from the speculative trading of cryptocurrencies that has dominated the marketplace thus far and a shift towards the use of digital assets as a means of value transfer. During the trial, Currencies Direct conducted a number of transfers between pre-screened organizations in seconds, compared to the 3 to 5 day period that transfers currently take.
Brian Harris, Chief Product Officer at Currencies Direct, commented:
“Our trial with XRP was a resounding success. We’re currently assessing our next steps, but the evidence we’ve gathered indicates that the use of XRP is a game changer, making payments near-immediate and significantly improving service to our customers. Our goal is to offer the best possible service. We believe that utilizing cryptocurrencies in this way – as a transfer of value, rather than as a store of value – is the next logical step for our industry. It is, after all, the intended purpose of cryptocurrencies and we’re proud to be leveraging new technology to deliver the most convenient and seamless experience for our customers.”
Ripple’s xRapid connects directly to exchanges in both the sender’s and receiver’s countries, with the sender’s currency being exchanged into XRP. Then, in seconds, that XRP is exchanged into the destination currency in the second digital asset exchange. At the end of the tracked transaction, the funds are sent out to the recipient and arrive in their account in their native currency, resulting in the fastest cross-border payment.
Asheesh Birla, Senior Vice President of Product at Ripple, said:
“The results speak for themselves – xRapid leverages XRP to transform the way money moves by significantly lowering the cost and time it takes to make a cross-border payment. xRapid offers an enhanced payments experience, while also allowing payment providers to gain a competitive advantage in the market. This represents a revolutionary step for the industry and clearly shows how FinTech companies like Currencies Direct are helping to revolutionize the financial services sector,” explains Harris. “We’re proud to be early adopters of this technology.”
