The company’s shares gained the most it had in 10 months as it announced plans to work with the blockchain startup to test its digital currency for the purpose of moving funds. Moneygram International hopes that the move would help transfer money far faster than before, it said in a statement.
The company has historically been involved in using pre-funded accounts to fulfill transfers by customers, which can tie up capital. With a digital currency such as the one Ripple provides, the wait time could be reduced.
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“Ripple is at the forefront of blockchain technology,” Alex Holmes, CEO of MoneyGram, said in the statement. “We’re hopeful it will increase efficiency and improve services to MoneyGram’s customers.”
There is a chance that the pilot project will not see Moneygram adopting the cryptocurrency WXRP, but the two parties will evaluate whether or not the company becomes one of Ripple’s payment partners.
Ripple created the technology to help reduce some transfer periods, paving the way for the transfer of funds from Paris to Tokyo in a matter of minutes. With regular funds, such a move can take days.
There’s about 38.7 billion XRP in circulation, with each unit of the cryptocurrency worth around $1.68. The digital coin is up more than 700% over the last month.
MGI stock gained nearly 5% by mid-afternoonThursday.