Blockchain payments firm Ripple signs up 10 more banks and PSPs

Blockchain payments provider Ripple has added 10 new banks, credit unions and payments firms to its growing global network. The latest additions are: MUFG, BBVA, SEB, Akbank, Axis Bank, YES BANK, SBI Remit, Cambridge Global Payments, Star One Credit Union and eZforex.com.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, said: "The world's largest banks have been the first to adopt Ripple's technology, and the network effect from our customer base is accelerating.

"People know Ripple is the only blockchain solution for payments that is proven in the real world, and it's driving demand from financial institutions of all kinds and sizes because they want to stay ahead of the curve."

Ripple provided detail about some of its new customers' use cases:

■ BBVA is using Ripple to enable real-time payments between Europe and Mexico.

■ Akbank, is the first bank in Turkey to adopt blockchain and is a model for other banks who want to make faster cross-border payments without the need for correspondents.

■ Star One is the first credit union to offer Ripple remittances to customers via eZforex.com.

■ Cambridge Global Payments and Earthport are collaborating with Ripple to improve the customer experience, increase the reach and reduce the cost of real-time cross-border payments.

The news follows last week's release of Ripple'sQ1 2017 XRP Markets Report highlighting the tremendous growth in adoption of the digital asset XRP with $6.7m purchased during the quarter. Growing volume for XRP strengthens it as a solution for banks and PSPs interested in lowering liquidity costs for their global payments, said a statement.

Hirofumi Aihara, general manager, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, a member of MUFG, said: "We are very pleased to be working with Ripple to provide new types of payments services to change our customers' experience using the power of the blockchain technology.

"To demonstrate our commitment to the technology, we are joining the Japan Bank Consortium to collaborate with other Japanese banks move to commercial use of Ripple's global network. I do believe we can bring our experience from the Japan Bank Consortium to the Global Payments Steering Group."

Tolga Ulutaş, executive vice president in charge of Akbank Direct Banking, said: "We are excited and happy to be the first bank in Turkey to take the important step of using blockchain technology for international money transfer services. We believe that this new phase in technology will increase speed and transparency for our customers while at the same time reducing costs and providing a higher quality of service."

Amresh Acharya, group president and head, global Indian banking, YES BANK, said: "India is the largest recipient of personal remittances in the world, and as a leading Indian bank with a strong focus on technology, we are glad to partner with Ripple to realize the enhanced efficiencies of blockchain for real time cross-border payments. This partnership is a continuation of YES BANK's ethos of using state-of-the-art technology innovation to offer a superior banking experience to our customers."

V Srinivasan, deputy managing director, Axis Bank, said: "We are committed to using innovation in technology to make banking simple and convenient for our customers. Remittances have been a key strategic area for us. We at Axis are excited with the tie-up and the potential that the use of blockchain technology could deliver in enabling real-time, affordable money transfers. We have commenced work with Ripple and are in active discussions with other banks on the network to collaborate and test various use cases across retail and corporate remittances."

Paula da Silva, head of transaction services, SEB, said: "We are implementing cross-border payments in real time over Ripple. For us this is a first step in exploiting the advantages of using blockchain and distributed ledger technology in the payment area. We appreciate our partnership with Ripple."