Travelex to Utilize Ripple’s Crypto Payment Service in Brazil
- Partnering with Ripple will allow Travelex to use RippleNet’s On-Demand Liquidity service to facilitate fast and cheap cross-border transactions in Latin America.
- The bank will first enable payments between Brazil and Mexico, though it has plans to expand to more markets in Latin America in the future.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt SF at Moscone Center, San Francisco, California, September 5, 2018.
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Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service will be used by Travelex Bank to facilitate faster and cheaper cross-border transactions in Brazil, the company said in a press release on 18 August.
According to the announcement, Travelex is the first bank in Latin America to utilize RippleNet’s ODL service, which accelerates the cross-border transfer and exchange of currencies through the use of the XRP token. Ripple also noted that Travelex was the first bank in Brazil to be registered and approved by the country’s central bank to operate exclusively with foreign currencies, making it a key partner in the area. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in a statement:
“From day one, we’ve focused on building solutions that deliver real utility and we are excited to collaborate with an innovative partner like Travelex Bank to help move money more efficiently for the benefit of its customers across Brazil.”
Travelex will initially use RippleNet’s ODL to enable cross-border payments between Brazil and Mexico, and is planning to further expand in Latin America with more use cases being released over the coming months. Although the Brazilian bank was not the first to use RippleNet in Latin America — with Banco Rendimento, Remessa Online, Frente Corretora, and Banco Topazio having already used the service — it is the first to utilize ODL thanks to its approval from the Brazilian Central Bank.
Garlinghouse pointed out that Brazil was a perfect fit for its ODL service as it had adopted a mostly friendly regulatory framework for digital assets, which has caused an “explosion of activity” on the crypto market. Institutions have also shown increased interest in crypto and blockchain adoption to solve their customer’s “pain points”.
- A federal judge ruled that the sale of XRP through exchanges and algorithms did not qualify as selling securities, which could have a major impact on several SEC lawsuits.
- The institutional sale of the token, however, did violate federal securities laws, and the lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple will have to go to trial.
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- These documents are seen as central in Ripple’s battle against the SEC, which in 2020 accused the company of selling its XRP token without registering it as a security.
- The documents in question are internal emails, text messages, and expert reports that followed Hinman’s 2018 speech, in which he said ETH and BTC were not securities.
- Currently in its beta launch phase in Brazil, the Binance Card will allow its holders to make payments and purchases using 13 supported cryptocurrencies.
- Brazil has become the second country in Latin America to receive the product, following a similar announcement in Argentina in August 2022.