Ripple launches real-time settlement for forex
Ripple Labs has revealed FX Market Making for real-time settlement of forex trades and reduced counterparty risk. It has also announced Cross-currency Settlement which provides correspondent banks with a low-cost alternative for international money transfers. The news comes as many banks are weighing the benefits of blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies, including Ripple. A handful of institutions are understood to have already adopted Ripple's protocol and several others have confirmed that they are considering doing so. Earlier this week, as reported in our briefings, Ripple announced that it has received $4m in funding from Santander InnoVentures, bringing its Series A funding to a total of $32m.

Ripple has announced two new solutions geared towards banks involved with cross-border Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term and FX trading.

With FX Market Making, the company says that its global payments market can be leveraged for FX liquidity and real-time settlement, thereby lowering volatility and counterparty risk. It would either power a bank's in-house trading desk or tap the liquidity of third-party market makers to provide competitive FX rates for clients.

Another solution, Cross-currency Settlement, would provide an alternative to correspondent banks for international money transfers. Ripple clients would provide low-cost remittance services or function as international banks on behalf of smaller regional banks performing wire transfers.

Ripple touts both solutions for removing friction and fees from the multi-trillion dollar currency exchange market.

The additions come at a time when banks are looking to remain competitive in the face of an onslaught by technology startups threatening to erode their business. Many are weighing the benefits of Bitcoin's Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term or other distributed ledger technologies, including Ripple.

A handful of institutions have already adopted Ripple's protocol, and several more have disclosed their consideration of the technology. Ripple is looking to woo banks through practical solutions on top of its protocol that speak in functional terms that banks can relate to. CEO Chris Larsen also said that the company has been gathering feedback from potential clients. "Through hundreds of conversations with financial institutions over the past two years, we’ve gleaned important feedback about what to develop next," he commented.

Also unveiled was the implementation of the Interledger Protocol (ILP), which is sought to scale Ripple to potentially handle an unlimited number of transactions and improve privacy.

To convey the message that the startup is in the business of practical solutions, it has been renamed from 'Ripple Labs' to simply 'Ripple'. "We’re no longer experimenting. We’re delivering," says the company's blog.

Ripple also announced that it has received $4 million in funding from Santander InnoVentures, the venture capital arm of Spanish financial services conglomerate Santander Group. The funding brings Ripple's Series A total to $32 million, following a $28 million round in May.