Ripple (XRP)
Instant cross-border settlement for the continental trade network
The Case for Ripple
When Ripple launched its XRP payment protocol, the problem it was designed to solve was exactly the problem that ATH members face every day: cross-border payments that take too long and cost too much.
Traditional international wire transfers rely on a correspondent banking system built in the twentieth century for a twentieth century economy. Funds move from one bank to another through a series of intermediaries, each taking a fee and adding time. By the time a payment arrives at its destination, days may have passed and several percentage points of the original amount may have been consumed in fees.
Ripple XRP settles in three to five seconds. Its fees are measured in fractions of a cent. For businesses that move money across borders frequently, the arithmetic is compelling.
Traditional international wire transfers rely on a correspondent banking system built in the twentieth century for a twentieth century economy. Funds move from one bank to another through a series of intermediaries, each taking a fee and adding time. By the time a payment arrives at its destination, days may have passed and several percentage points of the original amount may have been consumed in fees.
Ripple XRP settles in three to five seconds. Its fees are measured in fractions of a cent. For businesses that move money across borders frequently, the arithmetic is compelling.
ATH Ripple Integration
ATH has integrated Ripple XRP settlement into the ATH payment network, making it available to all member businesses as an option for cross-border transactions within the continental network.
Member businesses that choose to use the ATH Ripple integration gain access to pre-configured payment corridors between all 35 member nations, meaning they do not need to individually establish banking and FX relationships in each country where they do business. The ATH network acts as the infrastructure layer, and Ripple acts as the settlement layer.
For businesses in Caribbean nations, where traditional banking infrastructure is sometimes less developed, the Ripple integration can be particularly significant. It enables full participation in continental trade without requiring the kind of correspondent banking relationships that smaller economies sometimes struggle to establish.
Member businesses that choose to use the ATH Ripple integration gain access to pre-configured payment corridors between all 35 member nations, meaning they do not need to individually establish banking and FX relationships in each country where they do business. The ATH network acts as the infrastructure layer, and Ripple acts as the settlement layer.
For businesses in Caribbean nations, where traditional banking infrastructure is sometimes less developed, the Ripple integration can be particularly significant. It enables full participation in continental trade without requiring the kind of correspondent banking relationships that smaller economies sometimes struggle to establish.