Euro Exim Bank is in line to becoming the first bank to officially announce the utilization of the XRP digital currency in facilitating cross-border payments. Euro Exim Bank is based in London and mainly focuses in the provision of financial services to businesses involved in imports and exports.
Exim Bank Collaborates with Ripple
Ripple made the announcement that Euro Exim Bank will be using XRP for cross border payments on Tuesday. Alongside Euro Exim Bank are JNFX, FTCS, SendFriend and Transpaygo also using XRP to facilitate cross-border payments. Other financial institutions that have signed to RippleNet and will be following suit soon include WorldCom Finance, BFC Bahrain, Ahli Bank, Rendimento, Olympia Trust Company, GMT, ConnectPay, and Pontual/USEND.
Due to this new addition of partners the total number of XRP’s customers has significantly increased to over 200, as confirmed by the announcement made on Tuesday. Brad Garlinghouse, the chief executive at Ripple, has announced that as of recently Ripple has been bringing in two to three customers on a weekly basis adding that last year Ripple had an increase of customers making live payments, up to 350%. Garlinghouse added, in another statement, that the firm has noticed a recent trend where more customers are choosing to use XRP to facilitate on demand liquidity.
Kaushik Punjani, director for Euro Exim Bank, stated that traditionally the Bank’s customers have been experiencing restrictions when it comes to quick, cost efficient settlement of transactions. Punjani added that this problem was being experienced across the board, by both big corporations and individual remitters alike. He said that the bank has been able to design, test, and implement xCurrent and xRapid through collaborating with Ripple and other counterparts. With the design, testing and implementation having been completed in record time Punjani said that the bank is looking forward to see how this new collaboration will benefit its customers.
Various Other Companies Already Utilizing xRapid and XRP Cryptocurrency
SendFriend co-founder and chief executive David Lighton noted that cheap cross-border payments were the main benefit that came with utilizing the xRapid platform. He said that the distributed ledger-based solution was the star of the show, enabling the firm facilitate transactions in real time, transactions that will be settled at a lower capital requirement and significantly reduced cost.
Lighton added that the firm was proud to be partnering with Ripple in providing affordable, faster payments to its customer base across the developing world.
There are several companies which are already utilizing the xRapid platform to facilitate international payments. Some of these companies include Catalyst Corporate Credit Union, MercuryFX, and Cuallix. Although these firms are involved in the provision of financial services, Euro Exim is the only firm which currently possesses a banking license that has incorporated XRP for the completion of cross-border transactions. xRapid platform utilizes the XRP digital currency to settle transactions.
Previous Collaborations
Previously the platform has been tested by various other major players in the financial sectors, firms that are, currently not using the platform as a whole. These firms include Western Union, IDT, and Money Gram.