Ripple, the global provider of blockchain settlement solutions, announced last week the addition of two new partners to the xRapid liquidity platform: IDT Corporation and MercuryFX . Both companies are engaged in complimenting sectors of the payments and remittance industry and share Ripple’s goal of providing liquidity on demand and making money transfer frictionless and instant, the company said in its statement. They join erstwhile Ripple clients Moneygram and Cuallix.
Aiming to provide a more transparent customer experience by moving payments and settling transactions in real time, MercuryFX provides worldwide cryptocurrency exchange services. Its CEO and founder Alastair Constance said, in a statement, “Ripple, XRP and fiat currency fit hand in glove. What we’re doing together is realizing one of the best use cases for frictionless transactions, international settlement. Digital assets promise fast transaction speeds but XRP is far faster than all of them, including Bitcoin. Cutting settlement times from hours and days to just three seconds or less will remove billions of dollars in unnecessary intermediary fees.”
A publicly traded telecom company providing money transfers between individuals, IDT aims to ensure that fees for cross-border money transfers remain low. “We’re excited to pilot Ripple’s xRapid solution for on-demand liquidity,” said Alfredo O’Hagan, senior vice president of IDT’s consumer payments business, in a statement. “We expect that xRapid will enable us to settle more transactions in real-time and at a lower cost.”
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse added, “It’s no secret that XRP is faster and more efficient than Bitcoin or any other digital asset. It settles in three seconds and at fractions of a penny. Payment providers like IDT Corporation and MercuryFX are early movers because they understand what XRP can do for their business and customer experience.”
Last week, Ripple also released its 2017 Q4 XRP markets report, which highlights the strongest quarter ever for XRP and digital assets as a whole. The company reports that USD 20.1 million was bought directly from XRP II, LLC, its registered, licensed money service business.
To learn more about Ripple, visit http://ripple.com/.
