FinTech firm Ripple has partnered with non-bank digital financial services provider Pyypl to launch global payment network RippleNet’s first-ever On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) deployment in the Middle East (starting with the UAE).

Via the ODL service, RippleNet “leverages the digital asset XRP as a bridge between two currencies, allowing you to eliminate pre-funding of destination accounts, reduce operational costs and unlock capital.”

In its blog post, Ripple started by explaining why the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is important:

“With $78 billion in remittances in 2020 from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) combined, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is home to two of the top three remittance corridors in the world. The region is also undergoing a fast-moving shift to digital and boasts one of the world’s most progressive financial regulatory environments.“

It went on to say that by using ODL, Pyypl will “provide instant, low-cost remittance options for people sending money into and out of the region (note: XRP will not be held within the UAE and transactions will not involve the currency AED as part of the payment flow).”

Furthermore, the UAE-based FinTech firm will “use ODL to eliminate the need for the costly pre-funded accounts normally required in traditional cross-border payments.”

According to Ripple’s press release,

Brooks Entwistle, Managing Director of RippleNet in APAC and MENA, had this to say:

“MENA continues to be a critical region for Ripple thanks to our outstanding roster of customers, a welcoming regulatory environment and a regional focus on the needed improvements in the current financial system. The establishment of yet another first-in-market ODL launch demonstrates the understanding that digital assets will play a central role in the future of global payments.

“We are delighted to partner with forward-thinking companies, like Pyypl, to ensure we can continue to break the status quo in the current global financial system to continue delivering the best experience for customers.“

As for Ripple’s troubles with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — over the sale of XRP tokens (which the SEC considers an “unregistered security”) — late yesterday, Coinbase Co-Founder and CEO had this to say:

Back on September 17, Coinbase announced that it canceled plans to launch its crypto lending product (“Lend”) after being told by the SEC on September 1 that it would get sued if it went ahead with the launch of this product.

As Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, explained in a blog post published on September 8, it was given a Wells notice (“the official way a regulator tells a company that it intends to sue the company in court”) on September 1 about its planned Coinbase Lend program.

On that day, the Coinbase CEO took to Twitter to explain his frustrations with the SEC. Here are a few highlights from his Twitter thread:

  • “Millions of crypto holders have been earning yield on their assets over the last few years. It makes sense, if you want to lend out your funds, you can earn a return. Everyone seems happy.“
  • “A bunch of great companies in crypto have been offering versions of this for years. Coinbase came out recently and said we would be launching our own version.“
  • “We were planning to go live in a few weeks, so we reached out to the SEC to give them a friendly heads up and briefing“
  • “They responded by telling us this lend feature is a security. Ok – seems strange, how can lending be a security? So we ask the SEC to help us understand and share their view. We always make an effort to work proactively with regulators, and keep an open mind.“
  • “They refuse to tell us why they think it’s a security, and instead subpoena a bunch of records from us (we comply), demand testimony from our employees (we comply), and then tell us they will be suing us if we proceed to launch, with zero explanation as to why.“

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.

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Featured Image by “enjoytheworld” via Pixabay