Ripple partnerships over the years reveal the inevitable impact of cryptocurrency in disrupting the traditional financial system. Bitcoin may be stealing the show with its fluctuating value but Ripple (XRP), though ranked 2nd in coin market cap, is in many ways the showrunner in the crypto-universe. In recent years, Ripple has been expanding notably by the high number of relationships it has developed over the years with very powerful financial institutions around the globe.

Disintermediation

Looking at recent crypto-news, you will see many government officials and heads of reputable financial institutions have been wary of the cryptocurrency revolution. But why wouldn’t they? Blockchain technology is allowing parties that do not trust each other  to have a platform where they can come to agreements without the aid of a middleman (usually banks play this role). So, it is no surprise the proponents involved in the traditional financial system may not be needed anymore.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The IMF has had a relationship with ripple, but of late last year, their interactions with Ripple during the 2018 Singapore Fintech Festival, was more public than ever. In a critical speech given by the managing director and chairwoman of IMF, Christine Lagarde, the organization stood behind the notion that a general acceptance of digital currency must be considered. The IMF has been seen to investigate and endorse different currencies with XRP being the latest on its radar.

In early 2017, Christine Lagarde with the IMF established a High-Level Advisory Group on Fintech shepherded by Chris Larsen. The main objectives of the group was to work with the IMF in an advisory capacity to try and monitor the economic and regulatory implications of developments in the world of finance and technology. The group held its first general meeting on blockchain technology in April 2107 and Ryan Zagone, the Director of Regulatory Relations at Ripple, was there representing XRP.

Ripple’s Partnership with Euro Exim Bank

As from the beginning of this year, the Euro Exim bank announced their partnership with Ripple which will see their clients experience a frictionless transaction when sending payments across borders.

The bank issued a statement saying that although they depend on a third party to hold the XRP during transactions, they prefer using the blockchain technology because it allows the existence of an almost immutable ledger.

“Working collaboratively with Ripple and selected counterparts, we have designed, tested and are implementing both xCurrent and xRapid in record time, and we look forward to the benefits these will bring our customers,” Kaushik Punjani, the director of Euro Exim Bank said.

Ripples Partnership with Malaysian Banking Group CIMB

In November last year, CIMB Group announced their partnership with Ripple. Same as Ripple’s collaboration with Euro Exim Bank, the CIMB was aiming at speeding up transactions across its various markets as well as join the network of Ripple’s members hence grow its cross border payment business.

The CEO of CIMB group, Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul Aziz, had this to say:

“We are delighted to be part of RippleNet and look forward to a fruitful partnership with Ripple by leveraging each other’s strengths and capabilities. This innovative blockchain solution will revolutionize international cross-border remittances, and is a testament to CIMB’s ongoing efforts to enhance its digital banking proposition by providing speedy and cost-efficient solutions to our customers across ASEAN.”

The partnership was reached to afford the CIMB group access to a means through which they could enhance their Speedsend –  the group’s proprietary product. In this way, the collaboration has opened the group to a broader market that accounts for members in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and those outside its borders.

Ripple and Omni

The ripple venture has made no secret about its initiative to include as many local and international groups in its move to gain the public’s eye. The Omni, which was co-founded by Stefan Thomas, a former CTO of ripple, is one of the companies to be part of the Ripple’s ecosystem. The Omni was funded by the Xpring and has recently established a way where its clients can use XRP to transact.

Although Omni has not released any official details of their collaboration with ripple, $25M investment is a significant amount that raises eyebrows. Unlike other ripple’s partnerships, this investment is based on Omni’s core business.

Moneynetint Joins RippleNet

The move by Moneynetint to join in the ripple partnerships follows news from Malaysia, where a successful cross-border transaction was completed through MoneyMatch, a fintech company.

The Chief Executive of Moneynetint stated, “the processes of interfacing and approval between financial institutions, previously taking months or even years, are now significantly reduced to a matter of days to a few weeks.”

Perks like fast transactions was one of the reasons the London-based company that provides financial services including foreign exchange partnered with Ripple. In a statement issued to the press, the director of account management at Ripple said that Moneynetint would be able to not only simplify the FX conversion that the company is involved in but also increase the speed of settlement of any transactions.

Author’s Remarks

Blockchain technology is a new wave of fintech innovation impacting the financial system. Countless efforts to determine how this technology is disrupting the traditional financial system is still ongoing. Looking at the abrupt development of Ripple and its partnerships in the digital economy, you can see how financial boundaries are becoming blurry at an astonishing rate. Ripple has dramatically extended its reach through a network of partnerships around the world.