- Blockchain provider Ripple has added five new members to its growing provider network
- Deal opens access for all RippleNet members to fast-growing remittance markets
- Ripple helps streamline payments across the network, making transfers faster and cheaper
Ripple has announced five new partnerships with financial institutions in four different countries.
The deals involve two banks, Brazil's Itaú Unibanco and India's IndusInd, and three international money transfer agencies, Brazil's Beetech, Canada's Zip Remit and Singapore-based InstaReM.
Each partner has agreed to implement Ripple platforms to enable real-time remittances for customers.
Beetech and Zip Remit will use Ripple's xVia to target person-to-person cross-border payments, while IndusInd, Itaú Unibanco and InstaReM will integrate Ripple's xCurrent product to facilitate international transfers to financial institutions.
Both Beetech and Zip Remit have also announced plans to build relationships with Chinese payments provider LianLian, another recent adopter of Ripple's xCurrent.
Emerging remittance markets are likely to see the greatest benefit, says Patrick Griffin, Head of Business Development at Ripple.
"Whether it's a teacher in the US sending money home to his family in Brazil or a small business owner in India trying to move money to open up a second store in another country, it's imperative that we connect the world's financial institutions into a payments system that works for their customers, not against them."
The global blockchain provider continues to extend its reach into the remittance market, with over 100 financial institutions currently in its RippleNet network of providers.
These new partnerships give all RippleNet members instant access to some of the most lucrative emerging markets in the international payments industry. Recent data shows that India, China and Brazil boast some of the world's largest remittance flows, accounting for hundreds of billions of dollars in cross-border payments each year.
