Money transfer firm MoneyGram has partnered with Ripple to trial use of Ripple’s XRP digital currency in its payment flows.

XRP is the native digital asset of the XRP Ledger, and has transaction fees of less than a penny – compared with Bitcoin fees of around $30 per transaction. Similarly, the average transaction time for XRP is 2-3 seconds, compared with other top digital currencies which range from 15 minutes to an hour.

Companies such as MoneyGram currently use pre-funded accounts worldwide to source liquidity. According to Ripple, new blockchain technologies have the potential to revolutionise this process, optimising capital deployment for money transfer companies.

Alex Holmes, chief executive officer of MoneyGram, commented: “Every day blockchain technology is changing the norm and encouraging innovation. Ripple is at the forefront of blockchain technology and we look forward to piloting xRapid. We're hopeful it will increase efficiency and improve services to MoneyGram's customers.”

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, added: “The inefficiencies of global payments don't just affect banks, they also affect institutions like MoneyGram. Money transfer companies are incredibly important because they help people get money to their friends and loved ones.

“We are excited about this pilot and a long-term strategic partnership with MoneyGram. By using a digital asset like XRP that settles in three seconds or less, they can now move money as quickly as information.”

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