Ripple’s payments push gains momentum as Travelex Bank deepens its use of XRP-powered rails and the US Faster Payments Council singles out Ripple as a G20 payments innovator.
What happened
- Travelex Bank — the first foreign‑exchange bank approved by Brazil’s central bank — confirmed it is expanding its use of Ripple Payments to deliver near‑instant, 24/7 cross‑border settlement. The update was highlighted alongside other developments by analyst ChartNerd on April 27.
- In a separate recognition, the US Faster Payments Council named Ripple (alongside Stellar) among the leading innovators contributing to G20 domestic payment modernization efforts. The Council’s mention is not a formal endorsement but identifies notable solutions within the G20 payments framework.
Why it matters
- Brazil is a major remittance corridor, processing more than $780 billion in annual cross‑border flows. Faster, cheaper settlement in that market can materially cut costs and friction for businesses and consumers.
- Travelex first adopted Ripple’s On‑Demand Liquidity (ODL) using XRP as a bridge currency in August 2022 — the first ODL deployment in Latin America. Within a year the bank added ten clients on the network. The expanded integration now uses Ripple’s end‑to‑end infrastructure to reduce intermediaries, lower operational costs, and remove pre‑funding requirements, enabling true around‑the‑clock settlement.
- Travelex’s regulatory status as Brazil’s first central‑bank‑approved foreign‑exchange bank also makes blockchain adoption operationally simpler compared with conventional commercial banks under different licensing regimes.
Context in the broader G20 push
- The US Faster Payments Council referenced Ripple in the context of G20 goals that call for 75% of global cross‑border transfers to be credited within one hour by 2027 (with costs falling to as low as one cent), and for at least 90% of the global population to have access to a cross‑border remittance provider by 2030. Ripple’s architecture—ISO 20022 compliance, built‑in liquidity management, and sub‑second settlement—maps directly to those technical targets.
April 2026: Rapid institutional expansion
- Ripple has had a busy April 2026: a blockchain remittance proof‑of‑concept with South Korea’s KBank (April 27) followed earlier deals including a partnership with Kyobo Life Insurance (April 15).
- The company acquired BC Payments Australia to secure an Australian Financial Services License ahead of new crypto rules effective June 30, 2026, and continues a licensing drive that already includes approvals in Singapore, the UAE, the UK, and Ireland.
- Ripple has also been granted conditional approval for a US national trust banking charter by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
How Ripple stacks up technically
- XRP’s settlement speed (3–5 seconds) and very low transaction cost (around $0.0002 per transfer) are frequently cited as competitive with—if not superior to—many legacy cross‑border rails. SWIFT has reportedly been testing Ripple’s ODL and XRP as part of its own cross‑border modernization work, underscoring industry interest in integrating faster settlement options.
Bottom line
Travelex’s deeper adoption of Ripple Payments in Brazil and the Faster Payments Council’s recognition underscore how blockchain‑based payment infrastructure is moving from proof‑of‑concept to production at scale — even as regulatory and industry scrutiny continues. The developments indicate growing alignment between Ripple’s technical capabilities and the G20’s ambitious timeline for faster, cheaper, and more accessible cross‑border payments.
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