In what could become the earliest major retail use cases of blockchain technology in the banking system, Santander is set to launch a personal payments app for international payments powered by Ripple’s blockchain tech. First reported by Finextra, the application will enable international payments in “3 clicks and 40 seconds” for retail bank customers, reveals a slide by Santander’s 2017 earnings presentation [PDF] released last week.
“We expect to be one of the first global banks to roll out Distributed Ledger Technology based payments for individuals,” the bank said, pointing to complete transparency on bank fees and foreign exchange rates before initiating transactions. The app will be made available in Spain, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Poland.
The release follows an 18-month internal trail by Santander where the application was put to use with Apple Pay for payments between £10 and £10,000 among bank staffers. Ripple chief executive Brad Garlingihouse confirmed the news on social media, with the app slated for release this quarter.
As reported by CCN in May 2016, Santander began trialing the app with payments supported in GBP, EUR and USD. EUR payments, specifically, is compatible with up to 21 countries whereas USD payments can be sent to the United States, hinting at a wider implementation of Ripple-powered bank payments beyond the four countries in the future.
Santander’s InnoVentures, the banking group’s FinTech venture capital fund, is notably an investor in Ripple after participating in a Series A funding round in September 2016.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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