In a recent report by Bank of America, the role of Ripple in the payments industry, especially in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, has been hailed by the second-largest bank in the United States. A team of analysts from the bank is unabashedly bullish on the company’s tech.
Bank Of America Endorses Ripple As A “Possible Exception”
In a recent report by Bank of America entitled “Breaking New Ground: Harnessing Payments Innovation in APAC”, the bank highlighted the role of blockchain in digitizing trade documents and the potential of Ripple’s frictionless remittance solutions to transform cross-border payments.
Bank of America acknowledges the evolutionary power of technology in enabling real-time payments. According to the bank’s report, APIs are the primary catalysts for the adoption of real-time payments, and they have revolutionized both customer connectivity and transaction processing.
“Banks can save money by utilizing Ripple’s technology, which is one of the reasons cross-border payments through Ripple have become so well-known. By eliminating middlemen and utilizing blockchain technology, Ripple lowers the transaction costs associated with international payments,” said Bank of America.
The bank dubbed Ripple’s work in the cross-border payments space as a “possible exception”, adding that banking institutions can boost the value and competitiveness of their products by passing down the cost-saving benefits to their customers. Moreover, in a highly competitive market, the decrease in operational costs also improves banks’ overall financial health and profitability.
The Head of Treasury Products APAC at Bank of America, Es Venkat, posited: “We’re already seeing Open Banking become a reality in EMEA, with the API mechanism being used to develop many new use cases.”
Did XRP’s Future Just Get A Lot Brighter?
Ripple Labs has, in the past inked deals with a myriad of financial services providers across the globe. While the recognition by the Bank of America is a big deal, it’s important to note that the majority of financial giants are still not using Ripple’s tech as they are deterred by the company’s legal troubles in the United States.
The San Francisco-based blockchain payments firm has been locked in a courtroom war with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission since 2020 over the allegation it broke federal securities laws by selling the XRP cryptocurrency to retail consumers.
If Ripple’s tech achieves widespread adoption after it’s incorporated into the existing traditional financial infrastructure, it will result in tremendous changes to the global payments ecosystem.
As for the XRP price, the bears have held off any attempts by the bulls to drive the price of crypto higher despite increasing hopes of a favorable outcome for Ripple in its ongoing SEC lawsuit. The sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap was trading around $0.4674 at publication time, plummeting 0.9% over the last day, per CoinGecko. Whether XRP will embark on a new journey north soon remains anyone’s guess.
