Today Ripple announced a collaboration with Finastra which could significantly extend the footprint of RippleNet. The deal will allow Finastra clients to use RippleNet blockchain technology for cross border payments. Finastra is a major technology provider to financial institutions. It has more than 9,000 clients, including 90 of the 100 largest banks. Only a fraction of the clients work with Finastra for payments.
Finastra’s revenues are $1.9 billion, and the firm provides a wide array of solutions to financial institutions, some of which relate to payments.
The deal relates to RippleNet, not XRP.
The collaboration is to help extend the RippleNet network, which is cryptographically secure payment messaging system. The platform’s main benefits are end-to-end tracking and visibility into fees, delivery time and status. By leveraging distributed ledger technology, RippleNet enables real-time settlement.
“Finastra is an established fintech player and works with a majority of the world’s top banks,” said Marcus Treacher, SVP of Customer Success at Ripple. “This partnership will enable Ripple to expand the reach and solutions for our partners, and the footprint of RippleNet while allowing customers to transact directly with each other.”
RippleNet already has 200 financial institutions connected, but that is tiny compared to the 11,000 that use SWIFT. The deal could benefit both Finastra’s and Ripple’s existing clients.
“Collaborating with a company like Ripple that harnesses innovative blockchain technology to provide fast and reliable cross-border payments is particularly beneficial for our customers in geographies where cost of correspondent banking is high,” said Riteesh Singh, SVP, FMS, Finastra.
Both companies have relationships with enterprise technology company R3. Finastra was the first to launch a dApp or application based on Corda with its Fusion Lendercomm blockchain solution for syndicated loans. The platform boasts big clients including BNP Paribas, Natixis, Societe Generale and Natwest.
