Ripple (XRP) Rubbishes Rumors on SWIFT-Ripple Partnership

Early this month, Ripple confirmed that they will attend the SIBOs, a SWIFT-sponsored trade show where exhibitors will be able to showcase their financial products. As a result, many speculated that Ripple could enter into a partnership with SWIFT. However, the rumors seem to have disappeared after the first day of the conference. Though Ripple’s Global Head of Strategic Accounts, Marcus Treacher, didn’t directly deny the rumor, he mentioned in a tweet that “the benefits of DLT are promising, but delivering it is still years away.” In another statement, he said that “there are over 100 financial institutions with access to instant payments across 40 countries and 6 continents who would say otherwise.” This refers to Ripple’s network, better known as RippleNet, which has connected more than 100 banks. In his opinion, Ripple's attitude toward SWIFT makes it clear that both products are in competition with each other and that any cooperation may not be possible.

Ripple intends to replace SWIFT

Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse has always stressed that Ripple seeks to replace the traditional global payment system. This did not, however, discourage Twitter users and the Ripple (XRP) community from speculating a partnership between the two companies.  In another tweet, Treacher also said: “New McKinsey Global Payments Map suggests leading banks are moving away from POCs and using blockchain at scale. @Ripple’s #blockchain allows for faster time to market and better global payment services.” While Ripple cannot and doesn’t want to partner with SWIFT, the blockchain startup might at least win a few customers at the event.

The use of XRP

Meanwhile, three companies have announced their support for XRP. The Canada-based crypto exchange Bitvo has listed XRP, which is directly paired with Canadian Dollar. In addition, XRP is now live on the Cobinhood, a rather popular crypto service platform known to charge zero transaction fees. Nexo also announced that it is the "first and only crypto-lender" to use XRP as collateral. Image source.