Good news for Ripple, more financial institutions are implementing Ripple’s technology.
1 min read
The payments network Ripple is looking to launch the MoneyTap application with support from the SBI Ripple Asia Japanese Bank Consortium later this year. That will cause Ripple to have a large share of the Japanese currency transfer market, maybe the largest. MoneyTap has officially launched its website which is a major step forward connecting several Japanese banks via Ripple solutions. It said, in March this year, the app would make it easier for banks to settle round-the-clock domestic payments in Japan. MoneyTap App is going to reduce fees associated with traditional money transfer services. The fact is that Japan is residence to a huge market for fintech, or financial technology, particularly in the areas of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
The deal between Ripple and the consortium has been planned for a few years.
Japanese MoneyTap app and Ripple
But now it looks like the firms involved are setting the closing preparations to launch the MoneyTap application in Japan. The app which was announced earlier this year, but the website for the service went live yesterday, September, 13th.
The main purpose of the new technologies is to be applied in a wide range of industries to facilitate and enhance a great number of processes. The banking sector is one of the spheres that eagerly adopt new solutions with a view to improving its functioning.
MoneyTap is a kind of a “simple bank transfer application without charge” and “a new bank experience application provided from the consortium for domestic and foreign exchange”.
Speaking about the fund transfer system in Japan, transaction fees are quite high and requires a lot of time to be executed. By implementation of MoneyTap app, the situation will be changed. Via the solutions offered by Ripple, it is planned to reduce fees and to achieve a possibility to carry out reliable same-day transfers.
The application is not ready for download just yet. But, the website going live shows that it will be soon. The projected launch date is autumn 2018.
Ripple’s own blockchain technology is known mainly as the underlying network for its cryptocurrency, XRP, known as ripple too and it is also used for real-time transaction settlements.
Presentation of the new app
The new app, Money Tap will offer a money transfer too, so that will be available on iOS and Android phones. That characteristic place them to be one of the first apps with such functionality that will be used by a number of banks at the same time.
In the beginning, the application will be working in collaboration with three of the members of the SBI Ripple Asia Consortium. The first banks involved are SBI Net Sumishin Bank, Suruga Bank, and Resona Bank. This preliminary launch will be followed by the service for the other 60 plus members.
Ripple hits the center of Japanese money transfer
Ripple are hoping that the move will place them at the center of the huge Japanese international money transfer market. They believe that can offer more affordable transfer than SWIFT is. Money Tap app could be more efficient in transfer smaller amounts of money than was previously feasible with traditional options.
It is interesting that it will also compete with remittance companies like The Western Union Co. (WU). The launch will also support Ripple’s claims of offering a robust and dependable technology platform that can form the strong support of the modern payment system.
Japanese MoneyTap app and Ripple keep the project under the veil
We must say that practically no information on the project has been already revealed, but it is clear that Money Tap will be used by the Japanese Bank Consortium that unites over 60 local banks. That is almost 80% of the country’s banking system.
The CEO of a Tokyo-based Strategic Business Innovator Group (SBI) has once said that they are also examining a possibility to use XRP for bridging currency on the Money Tap fund transfer platform. Now SBI is working with different cryptocurrencies.
Ripple solutions and XRP tokens represent a special interest for SBI. Just a few months ago, the company established its crypto exchange called VCTRADE.
Good news for Ripple, more and more financial institutions are implementing Ripple’s technology to make easier their processes.
But fans of the Ripple project, particularly XRP token, should hold off on celebrating just yet. Like with many of the projects Ripple is working on, it could be that the service exists without using the token itself. Whilst this would likely be positive for those invested in terms of exposure, it would not represent automatically adoption of XRP in itself.
It would make sense for Ripple to sideline their XRP token given that it is still not clear whether global regulators deem it as a security.
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