Santander to Launch Ripple-Based International Money Transfer App
- This could be the first example of a major retail bank using Ripple on a large scale.
Bank Santander plans to launch a Ripple-based international Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. Read this Term app in the spring, according to Business Insider.
The launch was first announced by Santander at a presentation in January by CEO Ana Botin. She said that the new system will be available to customers in Spain, Brazil, the UK, and Poland.
Ripple spreads
Santander first invested in Ripple back in 2015 through its venture investment arm Santander Innoventures, shortly after concluding that it was only a matter of time before distributed ledger technology would be adopted by banks. Santander has collaborated with Ripple several times since then, including with a partnership signed in November 2017.
California-based Ripple sells a blockchain-based payment network designed for use by institutions. Transferring money abroad with older systems takes days, while Ripple can settle transfers within 24 hours.
One of its products is called xCurrent. It “enables banks to instantly settle cross-border payments with end-to-end tracking". Another is xRapid, a system which uses the Ripple cryptocurrency (XRP) to make payments work. Ripple has been called "Western Union using blockchain technology", and even the real Western Union has experimented with Ripple products.
Ripple was first installed by a bank in 2014, and since then it has expanded aggressively, signing with hundreds of financial institutions worldwide. Santander is not the only big name on its list.
Most recently, Ripple announced that its products are to be tested on a large scale in China. Although China is technically not cryptocurrency-friendly, Ripple is more of a payment system that uses blockchain technology and puts less emphasis on its native cryptocurrency. Sagar Sarbhai, Ripple's head of government and regulatory relations for Asia Pacific, said: “We’re trying to get some regulatory clarity, we’ve started engaging informally with banks, FIs and payment providers, speaking to regulators and government bodies, trying to educate on what Ripple is and what our vision is.”
According to coinmarketcap.com, Ripple has a market capitalisation of almost 25 billion USD.
Bank Santander plans to launch a Ripple-based international Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. Read this Term app in the spring, according to Business Insider.
The launch was first announced by Santander at a presentation in January by CEO Ana Botin. She said that the new system will be available to customers in Spain, Brazil, the UK, and Poland.
Ripple spreads
Santander first invested in Ripple back in 2015 through its venture investment arm Santander Innoventures, shortly after concluding that it was only a matter of time before distributed ledger technology would be adopted by banks. Santander has collaborated with Ripple several times since then, including with a partnership signed in November 2017.
California-based Ripple sells a blockchain-based payment network designed for use by institutions. Transferring money abroad with older systems takes days, while Ripple can settle transfers within 24 hours.
One of its products is called xCurrent. It “enables banks to instantly settle cross-border payments with end-to-end tracking". Another is xRapid, a system which uses the Ripple cryptocurrency (XRP) to make payments work. Ripple has been called "Western Union using blockchain technology", and even the real Western Union has experimented with Ripple products.
Ripple was first installed by a bank in 2014, and since then it has expanded aggressively, signing with hundreds of financial institutions worldwide. Santander is not the only big name on its list.
Most recently, Ripple announced that its products are to be tested on a large scale in China. Although China is technically not cryptocurrency-friendly, Ripple is more of a payment system that uses blockchain technology and puts less emphasis on its native cryptocurrency. Sagar Sarbhai, Ripple's head of government and regulatory relations for Asia Pacific, said: “We’re trying to get some regulatory clarity, we’ve started engaging informally with banks, FIs and payment providers, speaking to regulators and government bodies, trying to educate on what Ripple is and what our vision is.”
According to coinmarketcap.com, Ripple has a market capitalisation of almost 25 billion USD.