Most people are well aware of what Ripple is and does. The company provides blockchain technology catered toward financial institutions. More specifically banks and others service providers don’t want your average blockchain. It would not be feasible for them by any means. BBVA will now use Ripple technology to enable real-time transfers between Mexico and Europe.
BBVA has been on board with Ripple technology for quite some time now. Although the financial institution keeps all options on the table, no other blockchain service provider is capable of rivaling Ripple right now. The company successfully removes all cumbersome aspects of a blockchain. Instead, they created a distributed ledger any institution in the world can connect to for real-time payments. It is a smart play, even though many people feel banks will be obsolete sooner rather than later.
BBVA Puts Their Money on the Line
During a recent test, BBVA sent real money from Spain to Mexico in seconds. This is made possible thanks to the bank’s infrastructure and Ripple technology. Considering how such transactions usually take four days, the time gained is quite impressive. Speed is only one important aspect, though. These transactions are also a lot cheaper for all parties involved That will greatly benefit all users of BBVA looking to use the money corridor between Europe and Mexico.
Although this is only one example of what Ripple can do, it is a major validation of the technology. Having one of the world’s most prominent bank use real money to test this technology is a big boon for Ripple and its team. It is a bit unclear if the XRP asset was used to facilitate this transfer, though. Then again, without it, sending money in mere seconds will be rather challenging. There is no reason for banks not to use XRP while experimenting with Ripple technology.
It will be interesting to see how this trial affects BBVA’s status as an R3 consortium member. While it is good to keep options open, R3’s solution has been rather underwhelming so far. Additionally, BBVA is also a member of Hyperledger and the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance. Rest assured Ripple still has a competitive edge over most of these projects, because it actually works right now. An interesting future awaits the banking sector, that much is evident.