US Consumer Protection Agency Recognizes XRP’s Potential in Remittance

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has recognized the role of Ripple and XRP in cross-border transfers, a recent rule on remittance transfers shows.

According to the May 11 paper, the CFPB — a bureau tasked with protecting U.S. consumers in the financial sector — has been researching new trends on the remittance market. Among one of those developments is “the continued growth and expanding partnerships” of digital asset companies like Ripple, the agency noted. 

The CFPB also highlighted that XRP can be used to effect settlement of cross-border money transfers, adding that the company’s suite of products could “allow banks and credit unions to know the exact final amount that recipients of remittance transfers will receive before they are sent." 

SWIFT’s Interpolable GPI platform was also mentioned 

SWIFT’s global payments innovation (GPI) platform, which aims to accelerate remittance using existing infrastructure favored by hundreds of banks worldwide, was also mentioned in the report. SWIFT was considering putting its GPI solution on blockchain rails last year, but there’s been no update on that since. 

Ripple continues to push for adoption

Despite tipping its hat to Ripple, the U.S. bureau seems bearish about XRP seeing widespread adoption in the near future. The agency concluded that it is unlikely that reliance on the correspondent banking network will be eliminated “in the short-to-medium term” by any of the newer solutions, based on its estimations and feedback from market players. 

Nonetheless, Ripple continues to aim for the financial mainstream. Last month, the crypto company’s partner and investor, Japanese financial juggernaut SBI Holdings, announced plans to integrate Ripple-powered settlements across ATMs in Japan. 

According to data published by market research firm Fundstrat earlier in May, XRP has ranked among the weakest performing crypto assets in 2020.