Financial institutions or banks who have partnered for Ripple ODL will be able to help deliver instant cross-border payments.
Ripple expresses that they are honored to be part of the transformation of remittances and international payments within Africa through partnerships with innovative partners like Mercury. Also, they are committed to supporting major efforts across the world while working closely with regulators to ensure their success.
Ripple stated that the aim to bring down time and money off international payments is particularly important in the larger African continent. Further, remittances in particular are an important source of income for families. When money is delayed it can mean the difference between buying groceries and going hungry, or delay in making rent payments on time. Therefore, every minute gained and dollar saved will come with its own real-human benefits.
For clarity, Mercury is an International payments specialist which focuses on shortening the money transfer window to just a few to fractions of minutes by making use of RippleNet’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service and XRP.
It is good news that Mercury has been accepted into the first cohort of South Africa’s Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group (IFWG) Regulatory Sandbox. Thus Mercury can now work in partnership with Ripple and cryptocurrency exchange VALR. This is seen as a big step toward bringing fintech innovation to Africa.
For clarity, the IFWG is there to make it possible for Fintech and innovation in South African financial market. There are more than 50 companies who have applied to be part of the inaugural Regulatory Sandbox. And, Mercury is one of the final six chosen in the process.
This, Mercury is one of two companies in the final six who are leveraging XRP to ensure efficient cross-border payments into the region.
The company’s IFWG announcement clarifies the trust in the RippleNet and ODL process to send and receive money out and in to South Africa.
Previously, Mobile Money connected to bKash powers wallet-to-wallet transactions. They have been delivering a cost effective, fast and reliable remittance experience to 10 million+ non-resident Bangladeshis all over the world.
Also, the good news is that Ripple currently has a good position in its lawsuit with SEC. On the other hand, SEC has some key points regarding Ripple CEOs that they have enriched themselves through XRP sales. Hopefully the Tom & Jerry game with SEC will be over soon.
