Ripple is aiming to secure a share of the continually expanding payment industry, which is predicted to reach a staggering $300 trillion by 2030. This endeavor hinges on its payment solutions that leverage XRP for cross-border settlements.
Pegah Soltani, the Head of Payments Product at Ripple, recently shed light on the company's strategy for tackling the challenges within the payment sector using blockchain technology.
During her presentation, Soltani expressed fascination with the immense volume of money flowing across borders, amounting to trillions of dollars annually. Projections indicate that this figure could balloon to $300 trillion by 2030.
However, Soltani identified several issues plaguing cross-border settlements despite the sector's growth. These problems include sluggish transaction speeds, exorbitant fees, and numerous errors during the value transfer process.
Ripple has taken proactive steps to address these pain points and revolutionize the sector. The fintech firm boasts a robust system designed to facilitate cross-border fund transfers while eliminating the existing challenges.
Soltani emphasized Ripple's role in reshaping the industry, stating, "Fortunately, at Ripple, we are changing the way value moves around the world. We use blockchain technology and digital assets to enable faster, more affordable, and more transparent payments for both our customers and their customers."
Ripple achieves this mission through its Ripple Payments service (formerly known as On-Demand Liquidity). Ripple Payments harness the power of cryptocurrencies, primarily XRP, to facilitate swift and cost-effective transactions involving various fiat currencies.
Soltani elucidated how Ripple employs its Ripple Payments product to facilitate fund transfers. She provided an example of a business seeking to send money from the United Kingdom to the Philippines. To complete this transaction, they must convert Pounds from the UK into Pesos in the Philippines.
The business initiates the process by requesting a foreign exchange (FX) quote to determine the exchange rate for converting Pounds to Pesos. After receiving and approving the quote, they proceed to submit the payment instruction.
Ripple's payment solution receives the Pounds, converts them into a digital asset, typically XRP, and then transforms the XRP into Pesos through a Ripple partner network based in the Philippines. As a result, the recipient receives the exact amount quoted in their local currency, the Peso.