Ripple and MoneyGram Partner to Modernize Payments
- by Emilio Sims
- in Money
- — Jan 12, 2018
For MoneyGram, the second largest money transfer company in the world, this strategic partnership will allow them to understand how blockchain technology and XRP can improve the efficiency of their global treasury operations and consumer experience.
Elsewhere, Ethereum saw its price tumble nearly 8% to US$1,196 per coin leaving it with a market capitalisation of US$116 billion and bitcoin cash fell 7.5% to US$2,543. The two banks use the blockchain to speed up cross-border payments between the United Kingdom and the US. Under the Basel III regime, these reserves count against banks as balance-sheet assets, forcing them to hold even more cash to cover their supposed liabilities.
MoneyGram CEO Alex Holmes said the company looks forward to using xRapid in its pilot program, adding: "We're hopeful it will increase efficiency and improve services to MoneyGram's customers". MoneyGram has shown great trust in Ripple and has stated that Ripple's average transaction time of 2 to 3 seconds is considerably lower than other major cryptocurrencies. We also provide bill payment services, issue money orders and process official checks in select markets.
Through the partnership, MoneyGram will pilot XRP payments through "xRapid", a new Ripple solution for "on-demand liquidity", the company said in a press release.
"The inefficiencies of global payments don't just affect banks, they also affect institutions like MoneyGram". It could, indeed. But let's recap what happened with Ripple during the last week.
Reports on Wednesday night that South Korea was preparing to ban all cryptocurrency trading sent digital-asset investors rushing for the exits.
There's about 38.7 billion XRP in circulation, with each unit of the cryptocurrency worth around $1.68. XRP traded as high as $2.35 on Thursday morning before falling back to just above $2.00 by the early afternoon.
However, its value has risen meteorically in the past two months, with its price surging more than 850%, according to Coindesk.
