On Thursday, Ripple announced it has added three new exchange partners to its cross-border payments product, xRapid. According to Ripple, xRapid is powered by XRP and the partners allow xRapid payments to move from one currency (into XRP) and back into another currency quickly and efficiently. The exchanges added to xRapid are Bittrex, Bitso, and Coins.ph.
Ripple reported that Bittrex will act as the preferred digital asset exchange for xRapid transactions that move through US Dollars. Bitso and Coins.ph will then be preferred for Mexican Pesos and Philippine Pesos. Ripple then shared what xRapid payment flow will look like from the U.S. to Mexico:
- A financial institution, that has an account with Bittrex, initiates a payment in US dollars through xRapid which is then instantly converted into XRP on Bittrex
- The payment amount in XRP is settled over the XRP Ledger
- Bitso instantly converts the XRP into fiat, which is then settled into a destination bank account
Speaking about the exchange partners, Cory Johnson, Chief Market Strategist at Ripple
“Bittrex is one of the biggest names in digital asset trading in the U.S. The same goes for Bitso in Mexico and Coins.ph in the Philippines. That makes today’s announcement an important development for xRapid,”
Johnson also revealed that he and his team have seen several successful xRapid pilots and the exchange partnerships will allow Ripple to provide financial institutions with the comfort and assurance that their payments will move seamlessly between different currencies. Ron Hose, CEO of Coins.ph., added:
“We are excited to be partnering with Ripple to bring the benefits of blockchain technology to cross-border payments, making sending money home more affordable for 10M+ overseas filipino workers.”