Benzinga - by Khyathi Dalal, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Ripple upgraded its payments platform to expand business interests in the U.S. and Africa.
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What Happened: The crypto payments firm is looking to expand its business interests in both the U.S. and Africa through the launch of an updated settlements platform, named Ripple Payments, The Block reported. It targets a new brand of corporate clients in the U.S. with its cross-border payments solutions.
Initially available in the U.S., the new Ripple Payments platform plans to expand to more places in 2024. Currently, Ripple serves customers in more than 50 countries.
Also Read: Over 80 Million XRP Tokens Moved; Major Transfers To Bitstamp, Unknown Wallets
The company also announced a partnership with African fintech MFS Africa, recently name changed to Onafriq, for focusing on facilitating cross-border crypto payments between Africa and other markets including the UK, Australia, and Gulf Cooperation Council. Provider of mobile money transfer solutions, Onafriq connects to more than 500 million mobile wallets across 40 African countries.
Both the news was announced at the company’s annual conference in Dubai, Swell.
Why Does It Matter: Ripple Payments is mainly for companies who do not own money transmitter licenses or have a deep knowledge of how blockchain and crypto work. The firm’s new payments product is the result of Ripple’s acquisition of 30 money transmitter licenses in the U.S.
The topic will be of discussion at Benzinga’s Future Of Digital Assets Event in New York scheduled on Nov.14. Attend and learn more about Ripple and its payments platform. The gathering is seen as pivotal for the digital assets’ community. The event will spotlight the latest trends, innovations, and challenges in the digital asset realm.
The new platform is expected to improve companies’ ability to complete cross-border payments to suppliers, vendors, or overseas employees more effectively.
“Connecting our partners PayAngel, Pyppl, and Zazi Transfer with Onafriq over Ripple Payments will bring the benefits of faster and more cost-effective cross-border payments to individuals seeking to send money into Africa from around the globe,” Ripple SVP Aaron Sears commented.
XRP token price has rallied 37% in the past month's trading session.
Ripple recently received approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority, and investment in a CBDC project with the National Bank of Georgia. Among licenses, it also has money transmitter licenses in the U.S. and an institutional payments license in Singapore. Recently, it has filed in the U.K. and EU.
Read Next: SEC Asks Judge To Dismiss Lawsuit Against Ripple Executives, But There's Pending Issues
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