Ripple, a digital assets infrastructure provider, announced the launch of Ripple Payments in Brazil in partnership with Latin America’s leading crypto exchange, Mercado Bitcoin. The end-to-end payment solution would enable customers to leverage blockchain technology for faster, safer, cheaper, and more efficient cross-border payments in minutes.
Mercado Bitcoin is among the largest crypto exchanges in Latin America. Their partnership with Ripple will first focus on the internal operation between Portugal and Brazil, as mentioned in the announcement. Furthermore, the expansion of the service to international payments for retail customers and the corporate sector is also planned.
According to Ripple, the payment solution was building upon a new feature that debuted in 2023 to enable Ripple to manage end-to-end payments on its customers’ behalf. Mercado Bitcoin was expected to use Ripple Payments to improve its coordinated treasury operations between Portugal and Brazil. The statement revealed that the plan was to improve customer experience by allowing non-resident accounts and direct payments in Reais for retail and corporate customers.
Ripple expands into Brazil with Mercado Bitcoin collaboration
Ripple's end-to-end payments solution is now live in Brazil!
— Ripple (@Ripple) October 3, 2024
Learn how our new partnership with @MercadoBitcoin will streamline treasury operations between Brazil & Portugal, boosting cross-border payment efficiency via Ripple’s managed payments solution.https://t.co/wQqHRkd9wf
Ripple’s statement disclosed that its end-to-end payments solution was now live in Brazil through collaboration with Mercado Bitcoin. The statement revealed that the new partnership was aimed at streamlining Mercado’s treasury operations between Brazil and Portugal and boosting the efficiency of cross-border payments.
Ripple claimed that its simple, compliant, and secure digital asset infrastructure positioned it well to help financial institutions tokenize, store, and transfer digital assets. Silvio Pegado, managing director of LATAM at Ripple, was thrilled about the unique capabilities offered to crypto businesses. Ripple Payments would enable streamlined operations, optimized liquidity, and improved margins.
“The idea is to provide a simplified transfer through the expertise of Ripple, our international partner specializing in cross-border payments”
–Jordan Abud, Head of Banking at MB
Abud stated that the partnership enabled Mercado Bitcoin to internationalize its services and offer low service charges. Ripple Payments enjoyed ‘near-global coverage’ with access to 80+ payout markets spanning over 90% of the daily FX market processing >$50 billion in volume.
Brazilian businesses stand to benefit from the Ripple Payments suite
Ripple asserted that Brazil’s dominance in the Latin American crypto market made it ‘a natural next market’ to launch Ripple Payments for the benefit of Brazilian businesses. The first Ripple local office in Brazil was opened in 2019, and the Travelex Bank which offered crypto-enabled payments was launched in 2022.
Ripple Payments offered security and trust for Brazilian businesses since Ripple had over a decade of experience building financial institution solutions, and adhering to strict compliance, security, and regulatory standards. The payment solution also streamlined onboarding enabling businesses to integrate and implement Ripple Payments quickly with no friction.
The statement clarified that ‘one integration global access’ with Ripple as the only counterparty enabled businesses to expand their global reach. Providing 24/7 liquidity meant businesses could access multiple-currency on-demand liquidity to ensure timely and efficient transactions regardless of time zone or destination.
As per the Ripple statement, the product was not yet available to customers and the initial operation would be institutional – exclusively from Mercado Bitcoin Brazil to Mercado Bitcoin Portugal.
Additional reporting by Noor Bazmi.
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