Ripple has announced a new partnership with London-based fintech solutions provider Finastra.
The collaboration will allow Ripple, which provides enterprise blockchain solutions for cross-border payments, to offer its solutions to Finastra’s banking customers.
The company says that hundreds of financial institutions using Finastra’s solutions will be able to make cross-border payments by connecting and transacting with over 200 Ripple partners worldwide.
Institutions on RippleNet, Ripple’s global blockchain payments network, will then be able to access Finastra’s vast global footprint.
Users will also be able to send international payments tracking and verifying fees, delivery time and transaction status.
According to the announcement,
“Customers will be hosted on Ripple’s cloud solution which will significantly improve speed of integration with other network partners and allow for faster upgrades. They will also have the option to use On-Demand Liquidity, which leverages the digital asset XRP for cross border payments.”
On-Demand Liquidity has recently emerged as Ripple’s new name for its XRP-powered payment solution xRapid. The rebranding appears to be focused on streamlining efforts to market its products.
Finastra, whose banking customers currently process millions of transactions each month, is expected to increase the overall volume on Ripple’s network. Finastra has over 10,700 employees across 130 countries, over 9,000 clients including banks and financial institutions worldwide, and annual revenue of $1.9 billion.
The company has a majority of its customers in North and South America with roughly 7,840 clients, followed by Europe with about 1,600 clients.
Says Marcus Treacher, senior vice president of customer success at Ripple,
“Finastra is an established fintech player and works with a majority of the world’s top banks. This partnership will enable Ripple to expand the reach and solutions for our partners, and the footprint of RippleNet while allowing customers to transact directly with each other.”
Riteesh Singh, senior vice president, FMS, Finastra notes that the partnership targets a big problem in traditional banking: high fees.
“Collaborating with a company like Ripple that harnesses innovative blockchain technology to provide fast and reliable cross-border payments is particularly beneficial for our customers in geographies where cost of correspondent banking is high.”