Ripple Payments Expands Digital and Fiat Cross-Border Rails

Ripple Payments now allows customers to collect, hold, exchange and payout in both fiat and stablecoins.

The platform also enables customers to provision named virtual accounts and wallets, automate collection flows, exchange and settle funds into operational accounts, Ripple said in a Tuesday (March 3) press release.

These functionalities leverage its acquisitions of custody and treasury automation firm Palisade and virtual accounts and collections company Rail, according to the release.

With these additional features, Ripple Payments provides a licensed, end-to-end solution that supports both fiat and digital money movement at global scale, per the release.

Ripple offers FinTechs and financial institutions infrastructure that applies the same rigor to digital assets as that applied to traditional finance, President Monica Long said in the release.

“Success in this space requires enterprise-grade infrastructure, extensive licensing and deep liquidity — capabilities few can match,” Long said. “Ripple has built the blueprint for blockchain-based enterprise solutions designed to operate at global scale for regulated finance.”

Ripple acquired Palisade in November, saying Palisade’s wallet-as-a-service technology is ideal for the high-speed uses cases of customers looking for an out-of-the-box solution for high-frequency transactions, on- and off-ramps and payments.

When Ripple acquired Rail in August, it said Rail’s virtual accounts and automated back-office infrastructure would add to the capabilities already offered by Ripple Payments.

Ripple announced in February that it received full approval for an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from Luxembourg’s financial regulator. The company said this achievement marked a significant expansion of the company’s regulatory footprint and would accelerate the deployment of its payment services across the European Union.

In January, the firm set it was set to scale Ripple Payments in the United Kingdom after receiving approval of its electronic money institution license and crypto asset registration from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority.

Ripple’s regulatory foundation now includes more than 75 global licenses and Money Transmitter Licenses, according to the Tuesday press release. This foundation enables the company to move money on behalf of customers, work directly with banks and payment providers, and operate across regulated financial rails, the release said.

The Ripple Payments platform now has over $100 billion in processed volume, per the release.