This is one of the first successful trials of a digital asset by a mainstream financial services organisation. It marks a departure from the speculative trading of cryptocurrencies that has dominated the marketplace thus far and a shift towards the intended purpose of digital assets - as a means of value transfer.

The trial saw Currencies Direct conduct a number of transfers between pre-screened organisations in seconds, compared to the 3 to 5 day period that transfers currently take. The trial has served as a technological proof of concept for XRP as a means of value transfer, achieving superior speed of payment and end-to-end transparency, compared to traditional means of payment.

Brian Harris, Chief Product Officer at Currencies Direct, said of the move “our trial with XRP was a resounding success. We’re currently assessing our next steps, but the evidence we’ve gathered indicates that the use of XRP is a game changer, making payments near-immediate and significantly improving service to our customers.”

“Our goal is to offer the best possible service. We believe that utilising cryptocurrencies in this way - as a transfer of value, rather than as a store of value - is the next logical step for our industry. It is, after all, the intended purpose of cryptocurrencies and we’re proud to be leveraging new technology to deliver the most convenient and seamless experience for our customers.”

With xRapid, a financial institution connects directly to exchanges in both the sender’s and receiver’s countries. The sender’s currency is exchanged into XRP and then in seconds that XRP is exchanged into the destination currency in the second digital asset exchange. Once this transaction has taken place, the funds are sent out to the recipient and arrive in their account in their native currency. The transaction is tracked, and the result is a cross-border payment that is faster than ever before.
Asheesh Birla, Senior Vice President of Product at Ripple, said: “The results speak for themselves - xRapid leverages XRP to transform the way money moves by significantly lowering the cost and time it takes to make a cross-border payment. xRapid offers an enhanced payments experience, while also allowing payment providers to gain a competitive advantage in the market.”

“This represents a revolutionary step for the industry and clearly shows how FinTech companies like Currencies Direct are helping to revolutionise the financial services sector,” explains Harris. “We’re proud to be early adopters of this technology.”