- UAE Exchange is latest money transfer provider to team with Ripple
- Deal is first in Middle East to offer real-time, seamless cross-border payments
Blockchain platform Ripple continues to make inroads in the remittance market, this week announcing a new partnership with UAE Exchange.
The deal will establish UAE Exchange as the first international money transfer service provider in the Middle East to offer users a seamless, instant payment solution.
According to UAE Exchange officials, incorporating Ripple's blockchain technology into their already powerful payments system will deliver a better experience for UAE Exchange customers, with transactions that are cheaper and faster than traditional money transfers.
UAE Exchange currently holds approximately 6.75% of the global payments market – roughly $575m (£407m). The payments giant hopes to increase their market share to at least 10% by 2020. UAE Exchange operates more than 800 branch locations in 30 different countries, and the company is now the largest in the region to integrate its systems with blockchain technology.
Dilip Rao, Ripple's Global Head of Infrastructure, said the deal with UAE Exchange could be a game-changer for those in the region who depend on remittances.
"We chose to focus on solving inefficiencies in key corridors where payment flows are significant and growing. Adding a market leader like UAE Exchange to RippleNet will bring instant, certain, low-cost payments to the millions of retail customers in the UAE who send money abroad," Rao said.
Ripple has been focused on expansion in recent months, announcing several partnerships with large financial institutions around the world that have agreed to test or implement Ripple's blockchain technology with their existing products and services.
MoneyGram, Banco Santander, LianLian International, IDT Corporation, Western Union and Mercury FX are a few of the firms that have agreed to collaborate with the cryptocurrency startup.
