Cape Town-based fintech firm Xago is introducing a new Ripple gateway and a custom-designed exchange that allows users to send and receive XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Xago’s exchange connects to and utilizes RippleNet, a decentralized network of financial institutions that use Ripple’s proprietary payments technology to conduct near-instant and cost-effective cross-border transactions.
According to the announcement,
“Xago has built the exchange in order to create liquidity of XRP in South Africa, acting as the market-making platform for cryptocurrency enthusiasts and businesses that wish to trade with and utilize XRP and the Ripple Ledger. Due to the fast settlement between wallets, RippleNet is a viable option for transferring value between exchanges, reducing exposure to volatility.”
Founded in 2016 by company CEO Jurgen Kuhnel, COO Sonya Kuhnel and chairman Mark Chirnside, Xago was incubated out of the Cape Innovation & Technology Initiative in Woodstock.
Xago’s founders believe that RippleNet and other blockchain-based platforms will play a key role in transforming the digital payments industry.
Kuhnel states,
“By solving the double-spending problem, the Bitcoin blockchain opened up digital peer-to-peer payments without the need for a trusted third party through the process of mining.”
He adds that Ripple took decentralized technologies one step further by developing a faster and cheaper transaction ledger to compete in the high-throughput and quick clearing retail and banking ecosystem.
After Xago’s exchange has acquired adequate liquidity, it will release its payment switch which connects to retailers via their existing hardware and software platforms.
The exchange’s management explains,
“Where Xago is utilized, it will replace the need for acquirers and card networks for retailers, and with the use of RippleNet and XRP enable cross-border payments in the future. Consumers will be able to pay for goods and transact at the point of sale using only their mobile and mobile number, bypassing traditional payment rails.”
Xago’s platform uses a mobile number-based identity system to seamlessly connect mobile devices, the blockchain and retailers. Due to its high efficiency and low transaction fees, the Xago platform may be able to compete with other payment platforms in the retail industry.
Xago’s chairman Mark Chirnside says,
“This is no small step on the journey of Xago.io. With this launch and with the welcomed constructive approach we take with regulatory compliance and best practice, this platform holds the promise to reduce cost and friction, at a very interesting time in the payments arena. Personally I am honored to be involved as an investor and as Chairman’.”
The launch of Xago’s XRP-based platform has come as Binance Singapore, one of the Malta-based exchange’s fiat-to-crypto trading gateways, reveals it has added support for XRP.
The exchange is pairing XRP with the Singapore dollar.