Update: Santander has posted a follow-up to clarify that it continues to use xCurrent, noting the company’s help desk inaccurately stated it is using XRP.
A response regarding Ripple and XRP from Spanish banking giant Santander has gone viral on Twitter.
When asked if it’s using XRP for cross-border payments, Santander’s UK help desk said it’s using the digital asset to power payments to 19 countries, including the US.
Hey Wes, we're doing great. We're using XRP for international payments to 18 EU countries and the USA. This is on our iPhone app called One Pay FX. ^TC
— Santander UK Help (@santanderukhelp) March 23, 2019
Santander revealed its blockchain-based international payments service for retail customers, One Pay FX, in April of last year. But at that time, Santander said the app utilizes Ripple’s xCurrent – which is not based on XRP.
In November, Ripple announced that xCurrent customers can easily begin using xRapid – which does utilize XRP. But so far, no xCurrent clients have reported switching to xRapid. Ripple’s senior vice president of product Asheesh Birla described the new option to the crypto news outlet CoinDesk.
“What this release enables you to do is that in countries where you think it’s appropriate and xRapid is available, using your xCurrent software, you can now plug into on-demand liquidity using xRapid.”
Birla further clarified that xRapid may not be ready for adoption in countries like the US, where regulatory clarity on digital assets remains somewhat vague.
“In other countries, where there’s not good regulatory clearance or digital asset infrastructure, you just continue to use xCurrent as-is, with fiat liquidity.”
If Santander is now using xRapid, an announcement from Ripple is likely forthcoming. Until then, Euro Exim Bank remains the only bank that has confirmed it’s using the cross-border payment solution.
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