Ripple XRP Expands Global Reach with New Initiative in Africa

Crypto solution provider Ripple has teamed up with African payment fintech Onafriq (formerly MFS Africa) to power seamless cross-border payments for digital assets between Africa and other markets, including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the UK and Australia.

The company also upgraded its payment services to onboard more corporate clients. Africa is a huge market, but the African banking system is poorly developed. Now, XRP can help bring African banking to a new level.

Ripple Teams up with African Fintech Leader

The GCC is a political and economic union which consists of six sovereign states Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

As part of the collaborative strategy, Onafriq will launch three corridors in the mentioned markets with Pyypl in the GCC, PayAngel in the UK, and Zazi Transfer in Australia. Powered by Ripple Payments technology, those corridors will bring faster, more efficient, and cost-effective international money transfers between Africa and other regions.

According to the press release, Ripple’s technology helps Onafriq solve the inefficiencies and high costs associated with traditional cross-border payment systems. The partnership also helps foster financial inclusion by bringing financial services to underserved communities across the continent.

“Connecting our partners PayAngel, Pyppl and Zazi Transfer with Onafriq over Ripple Payments will bring the benefits of faster and more cost-effective cross-border payments to individuals seeking to send money into Africa from around the globe,” said Aaron Sears, SVP, Global Customer Success at Ripple.

Pioneering the use of blockchain and cryptocurrency, Ripple is among the first to tackle the multi-trillion dollar inefficiencies in cross-border payments. Ripple’s services are now accessible to hundreds of customers in over 55 countries across 6 continents, with payout capabilities in more than 70 markets.

Onafriq is the largest mobile money movement platform across Africa. The fintech leader has connected over 500 million mobile wallets across 40 African countries. It has over 1,300 payment corridors across Africa.

Following a partial victory in its legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ripple has continuously expanded its network and partnered with new businesses to integrate its cross-payment solutions.

Last month, Bank of America announced its collaboration with Ripple to develop a cross-border payments solution utilizing Ripple’s XRP cryptocurrency.

Ripple Upgrades Service to Attract Corporate Clients

Ripple recently has announced the rebranding of RippleNet, its crypto-enabled cross-border payments solution, to Ripple Payments. The transformation aims to offer businesses a platform for faster, cost-effective international transactions.

Ripple Payments is now accessible to over 70 crypto and traditional payout markets, providing nearly 100% global payout coverage through a simplified onboarding process. The firm holds over 30 licenses, including a MAS Major Payments Institution license and Money Transmitter Licenses across the U.S.

The integration with the XRP Ledger’s native decentralized exchange (XRPL DEX) improves product performance and reduces barriers to entry into new markets. Currently, Ripple Payments is exclusively offered in the United States.

With global expansion plans scheduled for next year, the solution is poised to reach a wider audience. The complexity and insufficiency of traditional processes have prompted many institutional players to leverage blockchain technology to tackle the problems.

Blockchain-based solutions can enable faster, cheaper, more transparent, and more secure payments across countries, which will benefit the global economy and consumers worldwide.

In September 2023, Bloomberg reported that JPMorgan is developing a blockchain-based digital deposit token that aims to speed up cross-border payments and settlements with on-demand liquidity around the clock.

The token would be issued by JPMorgan and could be used to represent deposits in multiple currencies. It would allow for faster and more efficient cross-border payments, as the token could be settled directly between banks without the need to go through the traditional correspondent banking network.