PNC Treasury Management, part of PNC Financial Services is adopting Ripple’s technology for cross-border payments. PNC is one of the ten largest banks in the US. The announcement means PNC customers will be able to receive real-time cross-border payments.
PNC is now one of several banks using Ripple as an alternative to SWIFT. Though at the Blockchain Expo earlier this year, SWIFT argued its remittances are also instant or nearly so. SWIFT claimed that perceived delays are because recipient banks sometimes sit on incoming money before allocating the funds to the customer’s account.
Nonetheless, Ripple asserts it offers lower costs and fewer liquidity requirements.
The first high profile bank to officially adopt Ripple’s technology was Santander’s app released five months ago. American Express formally announced it was using Ripple’s xCurrent in June. However, both companies partnered with Ripple in 2017.
The Santander relationship also formed part of a billion-dollar dispute with R3. Because Ripple was expecting R3 to introduce the company to its numerous bank shareholders, and Santander decided not to become an R3 member.
Nonetheless, Ripple has prospered with other numerous other bank relationships.
The company has multiple products. The major banks, including PNC and Santander, are using xCurrent for payment processing. They also have xRapid which is a liquidity solution. It uses the company’s cryptocurrency XRP “to offer on-demand liquidity, which dramatically lowers costs while enabling real-time payments in emerging markets.”
