Ripple is known within the cryptocurrency industry for its panache of partnerships and tie-ups. As the years have gone by, Brad Garlinghouse-led company has expanded by leaps and bounds to target payment corridors around the world.
The latest organization to join hands with Ripple was MoneyMatch, a cross border transfer service that helps SMEs in the country ton pay their global suppliers. MoneyMatch intends to use Ripple’s global presence to expand to the markets in 120 countries.
MoneyMatch works with the ethos of providing quick service to SMEs who want to move capital quickly. MoneyMatch founder Adrian Yap first spotted the gaps that SMEs face when he worked in treasury roles in Malaysia’s established financial institutions. Yap claimed that banks made a lot of profit off SMEs, especially from high forex rates imposed on them.
In a recent interview, Yap said:
“Banks typically focus on larger customers who are sending higher volume transactions and can afford higher fees. SMEs don’t have much choice other than to accept these same rates, which adds to the cost of dealing with foreign suppliers. We worked with Ripple to create an improved cross-border payment process that offers these customers better rates and faster transaction times.”
According to the founder, all the banks in Malaysia charged the same fees and were happy by generating the revenue. He did not see these banks take the initiative of increasing their market share by reducing rates and making the system more accessible. With MoneyTap, Yap believed that offering lower prices and a simpler way to send money abroad was the key differential from the competition.
MoneyMatch admitted that they were a small startup that did not have enough capital and volume to gain global traction. This was the reason why RippleNet was chosen after lengthy discussions between the founders and the board members. RippleNet gave MoneyMatch access to hundreds of global partners with everyone plugged into the same network. Ripple helped MoneyMatch by cutting integration and operation costs while also providing a faster and more affordable service to customers.
Another issue that Ripple addressed was a matter of credibility. Becoming a part of the RippleNet allowed MoneyMatch to cut costs by more than 40 percent with customers reporting much faster settlement timings. This was in stark contrast to when MoneyMatch used the SWIFT network where settlements would be delayed on occasions. Despite the Ripple partnership, MoneyMatch still finds it difficult to convince some clients about a switch to a blockchain-based platform. Yap continued:
“SMEs are rightly cautious with their money. Gaining their trust quickly was not something we could hack – you have to earn it. We saw businesses start with lower value transactions. Once we had their trust and they saw how much they were saving, these customers began making 4-5 larger payments with us every month.”
Both companies expect the partnership to be fruitful in the long run because of all the positive financial implications it can have. At the moment, the cryptocurrency market is a bit on the stagnant end but developments continue behind the scene. Ripple would hope that all the aforementioned partnerships soon pan out to become an established ecosystem.