Ripple Partners With Two Banks to Launch Cross-Border XRP Payments in the UAE

Ripple has launched support for cross-border crypto payments in the UAE. The XRP issuer has partnered with two UAE-based banks, the Zand Bank and Mamo, to enable cross-border payment solutions as well as on and off-ramp services for banks, crypto firms, and fintechs from around the world. The US-based crypto firm announced the development via a blog post on May 19. The post noted that these partnerships are expected to bring cryptocurrencies and Ripple Payments to the centre of UAE's international settlements services.

Back in March this year, Ripple became the first blockchain payments provider authorised to operate in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). At the time, Ripple said that it wishes to strategically place itself in UAE's ecosystem, especially at a time when the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region ranks among the world's most prepared for institutional crypto adoption.

Zand Bank and Mamo customers will be able to use Ripple Payments to facilitate cross-border transactions via crypto using the Ripple Payments service, the announcement said.

The Ripple Payments service has access to over 90 payout markets "representing more than 90 percent coverage of the daily FX markets, processing more than $70 billion (roughly Rs. 5,97,862 crore) in volume," the company claims.

Founded in 2012, Ripple now holds over 60 regulatory licences in different regions of the world. Its DFSA licence is what has led to these partnerships with UAE-based banks.

"Securing our DFSA licence enables Ripple to better serve the demand for solutions to the inefficiencies of traditional cross-border payments, such as high fees, long settlement times, and lack of transparency, in one of the world's largest cross-border payments hubs," said Reece Merrick, Ripple's Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa.

The company has consistently lauded the UAE government for being supportive in creating a friendly environment for the crypto sector to grow in.

Hoping to expand its crypto offerings beyond the current threshold, Ripple has expressed an interest in acquiring its rival stablecoin provider, Circle, offering up to $5 billion (roughly Rs. 42,300 crore). However, the offer has been rejected by the USDC-issuer for being "too low". Ripple reportedly remains interested in the idea, but has not revised its bid to take over Circle's business as yet.

The UAE, meanwhile, is now preparing roadmaps for a national CBDC as well as AED-backed stablecoins for the future.