Santander launching Ripple payment app
International payments made on the app reach their destination within one day, faster than wire transfers.
For the first time, retail customers in the United Kingdom can now make one-day Euro and US dollar payments to Euro Zone countries and the United States, respectively, using Santander’s new Ripple-powered mobile app.
Santander One Pay FX claims to be the first mobile application by a bank to offer a blockchain-based international payments service to retail customers in multiple countries at the same time.
Santander is one of the world’s largest banks with over 133 million customers and 14,000 retail branches. Santander plans to roll out the mobile app to more countries and will eventually support instant payments.
In a release on Ripple’s Insights Blog, the company revealed that international payments made on the app reach their destination within one day, compared to the average three to five days for traditional wire transfers.
“Transfers to Europe can be made on the same day and we are aiming to deliver instant transfers across several markets by the summer,” Banco Santander executive chairman Ana Botín said in a recent statement.
The app utilizes Ripple’s xCurrent solution. xCurrent uses industry-standard cryptographic algorithms and public/private key cryptography to mathematically verify transactions. Banks’ internal systems communicate with xCurrent over secure connections and are then authenticated, according to Ripple’s xCurrent brochure.
Ripple will also enable cross-border payments for Santander users in Brazil, Spain and Poland via xCurrent. These customers will experience speedier transaction times and benefit from an enhanced user experience.
However, xCurrent does not utilize Ripple’s XRP token like the company’s on-demand liquidity solution, xRapid.
Ripple’s distributed ledger, RippleNet, provides real-time messaging, plus financial clearing and settlements. Ripple has already signed over 100 partners who utilize its RippleNet blockchain.
Ripple recently contributed $25 million in XRP tokens to a $150 million Blockchain Capital investment fund, which is supporting entrepreneurial teams that are building blockchain-backed businesses. This is reportedly the first instance where a fund has accepted security tokens as a means of investment.
Cloud-based financial services platform Uphold has responded to customer demands, announcing that members now have the ability to buy and sell Ripple’s XRP digital currency directly from their Uphold wallet. Uphold frequently receives requests to support new currencies and XRP was a clear favorite among members.
In March, South Korea’s Woori Bank successfully tested cross-border remittance transactions via Ripple’s DLT.
FLEETCOR subsidiary Cambridge Global Payments plans to use Ripple’s XRP token in overseas transactions. Other companies also making waves with Ripple include Western Union, China’s LianLian Pay, UAE Exchange, MoneyGram, IDT Corporation and MercuryFX, Crédit Agricole, plus five other partners in four countries.
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