Ripple seems to be very bullish about its future. During an interview with Bloomberg TV, he mentioned that they do not want to co-exist with SWIFT. Indeed, he explained that they want to take SWIFT over. SWIFT is the current network that allows financial institutions and banks to perform transactions.
Ripple Wants to Take SWIFT Over
Different startups have surged during the last few years. One of them is Ripple. The company aims at improving the current inefficiencies presented by the SWIFT system. Sending a cross-border payment with SWIFT may take several days. Moreover, the transaction is not cheap, which increases the fees paid by bank users.
Ripple has worked in different solutions that allow businesses, companies and individuals perform transactions in a fast and smooth way. For example, using the xRapid product powered by the XRP cryptocurrency, companies can save between 40% to 70% costs. Additionally, they will also be able to settle the payment in just a few seconds. Clearly, SWIFT could be threatened by Ripple.
Although SWIFT is the dominant network, Ripple is getting prepared for a big future. According to Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, over 100 banks using SWIFT have already signed on with Ripple.
Garlinghouse commented on the matter:
“SWIFT said not that long ago they didn’t see blockchain as a solution to correspondent banking. We’ve got well over 100 of their customers saying they disagree.”
XRP tends to be very influenced by the decisions taken by Ripple as a company. During the last weeks, XRP increased in price after some rumours spread on the internet. Apparently, Ripple was thinking to sign a partnership with SWIFT. Nevertheless, this was completely denied by a SWIFT spokesman.
This time, Mr Garlinghouse explained that Ripple has no intention to be working side by side with SWIFT.
“What we’re doing and executing on a day-by-day basis is, in fact, taking over SWIFT,” he said.
This shows that Ripple is very sure about the products and services that they are building. At the time of writing, Ripple is working with more than 150 partners from all over the world. However, in the future, the number could be even larger.
Blockchain technology seems to be a very useful and powerful technology. Ripple is showing its strength against a dominant company in the market. SWIFT will have to start providing better services and products if it wants to remain competitive.
Ripple is not the only company that is working in order to revolutionize the payment industry. IBM and Stellar, for example, are also working in a payment network that is secure, fast and inexpensive. Both Stellar and Ripple are currently expanding in the market, while SWIFT is trying to keep its position.
Carlos is an international relations’ analyst specializing in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Since 2017, Carlos has written extensively for UseTheBitcoin and other leading cryptocurrency sites; with over 2,000 articles published.
