The first bank to officially adopt Ripple’s XRP-powered xRapid says it has successfully implemented the technology. In a new interview with Trade Finance Global, the bank’s head of compliance and operations Graham Bright says its developers are working closely to ensure everything is running smoothly.
“We had already created a cloud-based blockchain enabled trade finance application, so it was a quick decision to join other global Ripple participants for the first project, namely using the xCurrent service where institutions are able to instantly settle cross-border payments with end-to-end tracking and visibility.
Euro Exim Bank are now working closely with technical resources at Ripple, and have successfully implemented the xRapid system for customers requiring low value remittances in currencies and jurisdictions typically subject to large exchange costs, costly liquidity and delivery time and acceptance issues. Using underlying XRP digital assets (not mined or subjected to wild price fluctuation) through registered exchanges which minimise liquidity costs, local recipients may be paid in local currency, assisting the secure flow of money and reduce cash flow restrictions.”
So far, the bank has not revealed any data on real-world transactions sent utilizing xRapid.
Ripple launched xRapid for commercial production in October. The software solution is designed to be a regulatory-compliant way for banks and financial institutions to use XRP. It essentially allows companies to convert their local currency to XRP and send the digital asset to another country, where it’s immediately converted back to fiat. The whole process is designed to take a couple of minutes from start to finish, with the amount of time the funds are in XRP limited to a matter of seconds.
Euro Exim Bank is headquartered in in St. Lucia and has a representative office in London. The company specializes in “connecting corporate buyers and sellers, enabling businesses to economically and efficiently export and import goods and services.”
According to its website, the bank has a Class A international banking license and is permitted to operate an international banking business from St. Lucia.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has said he expects dozens of banks to utilize xRapid this year. So far, Euro Exim Bank is the first and only to bank to sign up. Ripple has more than 200 banks and financial institutions on board with its other cross-border payment solution xCurrent, which does not utilize XRP.
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