Banking, finance, and taxes

MoneyGram Partners With Ripple Cryptocurrency

Chris Lange

Published: January 11, 2018 11:55 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 4:34 am

MoneyGram International Inc. (NASDAQ: MGI) saw its shares make a handy gain on Thursday after the company announced that it has partnered with Ripple, a digital payment network as well as a cryptocurrency. The partnership is meant to pilot XRP (Ripple) in MoneyGram’s payment flows.

This strategic partnership will allow Moneygram to understand how blockchain technology and XRP can improve the efficiency of its global treasury operations and consumer experience. Also as part of this agreement, both companies also will explore MoneyGram’s integration into Ripple’s ecosystem through xVia.

XRP is one of the most efficient digital assets for payments, with its transaction fees at just fractions of a penny, which compares to bitcoin fees of about $30 per transaction. Similarly, the average transaction time for XRP is two or three seconds, with other top digital assets ranging from 15 minutes to an hour.

Ripple provides one frictionless experience to send money globally using the power of blockchain. By joining Ripple’s growing, global network, financial institutions can process their customers’ payments anywhere in the world instantly, reliably and cost-effectively. Banks and payment providers can use the digital asset XRP to further reduce their costs and access new markets.

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, commented:

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.

Shares of MoneyGram were last seen up about 7% to $13.01, with a consensus analyst price target of $13.67 and a 52-week range of $11.26 to $17.92.