Ripple Expands European Presence with New AMINA Stablecoin Payment Partnership

Ripple's payments subsidiary has partnered with Swiss bank Amina to leverage its payment infrastructure. This collaboration is designed to enhance transaction efficiency, reduce costs, and improve transparency, thereby solidifying Ripple's footprint in Europe.

Key Takeaways

Ripple has teamed up with Swiss bank Amina to utilize its payment infrastructure.
The partnership aims to streamline transactions, making them more efficient and cost-effective.
Amina is regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority and has a license under EU's MiCA regulations.
This initiative helps address the challenges faced by native web3 businesses with traditional banking systems.
Ripple continues to expand its influence in the global financial market, recently gaining approval in Singapore and Abu Dhabi.

Ripple, known for its blockchain services, has forged a partnership with Swiss bank Amina to enhance its payment infrastructure. Announced on Friday, this partnership allows Amina to execute transactions more efficiently without depending on traditional systems. This results in faster, cost-effective transactions that also offer improved reliability and transparency. The collaboration builds on their previous interaction when Amina integrated the Ripple USD stablecoin earlier in July.

This move is significant as it strengthens Ripple's presence in Europe, with Amina being regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority. Furthermore, Amina’s Austrian subsidiary received a license under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) from Austria’s Financial Market Authority in October.

Myles Harrison, Amina's chief product officer, noted that “native web3 businesses often face challenges when engaging with legacy banking systems.” He emphasized that stablecoins can effectively address these issues, particularly in cross-border transactions that traditional banks have not widely adopted yet.

Ripple’s partnership efforts
Source: Ripple

Harrison explained that Amina's clients need a payment system capable of processing both fiat and stablecoin transactions simultaneously, which is not something traditional banking networks can handle. Ripple Payments enables Amina to offer these essential services, ultimately reducing cross-border friction and allowing crypto-native clients to retain their competitive advantage.

Cassie Craddock, Ripple's managing director for the UK and Europe, remarked that this partnership allows Amina to act as a bridge for digital asset innovators entering traditional finance. He pointed out that Ripple Payments facilitates a seamless connection between fiat currencies and blockchain technology for stablecoin transactions.

This partnership is not Ripple's first endeavor to integrate blockchain technology into traditional finance. Reports from mid-November indicated the company is investing approximately $4 billion to incorporate prime trading, treasury solutions, payments, and custody services to take on conventional financial systems.

Ripple's aspirations extend worldwide. Earlier this month, the company received approval from Singapore’s central bank to expand its payment operations, allowing it to provide regulated token services, comprehensive payments, and further growth in the Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, by the end of November, RLUSD was authorized for institutional use in Abu Dhabi after being recognized as an Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token by local authorities.

Ripple expands European footprint with AMINA stablecoin payment partnership