Ripple, the company behind XRP, has signed a deal with UAE Exchange to help handle cross-border exchanges. This deal makes UAE Exchange the latest organization to join RippleNet, Ripple’s network that uses the company’s blockchain technology to handle international payments, Business Insider reports.
UAE Exchange’s CEO Promoth Manghat released a statement praising Ripple’s technology as “game-changing.”
“Incorporating Ripple’s blockchain technology into our payments systems will bring customers an enhanced, new payments experience,” Manghat said. “The early adoption of this game-changing technology allows us to offer a competitive service, as it will have an impact on the speed and cost of cross-border transactions.”
UAE Exchange, whose owner also owns Travelex, says it controls 6.75 percent of the $575 billion remittance industry and is hoping to control 10 percent by 2020. Currently, the UAE Exchange has 800 branches spanning 30 countries.
The deal is a boon for Ripple, which has faced some skepticism in recent weeks, thanks in part to a strong showing of the company’s XRP cryptocurrency. In December of last year, XRP rose to $3.65. It has since fallen, and is currently valued at $1.05.
It currently isn’t clear whether UAE Exchange will make use of XRP or just adopt the underlying blockchain as a way to quickly and securely facitiate international money transfers. Neither Ripple nor UAE Exchange has commented on the specifics of the deal. However, a representative of Ripple did provide a brief statement on the benefits of this deal.
“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,” said Ripple’s Dilip Rao.
While this deal is certainly advantageous for Ripple, it isn’t a complete surprise. In an interview with Arabian Business, Manghat was enthusiastic about the possibilities of cryptocurrencies.
“The average consumer may never know about blockchain, but indirectly he will reap the benefits of the efficiencies it brings forth across industries in his everyday life,” Manghat said.
This is far from the first such deal that Ripple has reached. Last month, Ripple entered into an agreement with MoneyGram to develop a new “payment flow” network.
