American Express and Santander announced today that they are teaming up to introduce blockchain-enabled, business-to-business cross-border payments. What this means is that payments between the US and UK business users of Amex’s FXIP will be made instantly.
On the other hand, the UK-based Santander bank accounts will be receiving these Ripple payments.
The CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, commented:
“We’re taking a huge step forward with American Express and Santander in solving the problems corporate customers experience with global payments. Transfers that used to take days will be completed in real-time, allowing money to move as fast as business today. It is just the beginning, and we look forward to growing this partnership to help other American Express FXIP customers.”
What the integration of Ripple within the Amex’s FXIP system will do is allow non-card payments to be processed through the Ripple network, RippleNet. According to Ripple, blockchain-enabled payments improve international transactions by simplifying connections with intermediaries and providing immediate end-to-end visibility into the transaction status and cost.
On the other spectrum, this is what José Luis Calderón, the Global Head of Santander Global Transaction Banking, commented on the partnership and the opportunity presented, as reported by Ripple today:
“We are committed to creating a leading international payment eco-system meeting the needs of companies and customers worldwide. This blockchain solution opens up a new channel between the U.S. and the UK and presents significant opportunity for payments globally. Collaborating with forward-thinking businesses has enabled us to deliver this cutting-edge, secure, friction-free payment solution and extend our Simple, Personal, Fair philosophy to American Express and their customers.”
Once the announcement was made, the price of Ripple went up immediately, as seen on the graph:
Source: Coinmarketcap