Western Union is Still testing Ripple and is Open to Sign a Deal, its CEO Says 10
credit: eleconomista.es

Western Union is Still testing Ripple and is Open to Sign a Deal, its CEO Says

Ripple is implementing an expansionist strategy that has not gone unnoticed in the business world. After announcing the opening of offices in Brazil, the company has made clear its intention to become the leading company in blockchain solutions for the financial sector.

The confirmation of Luiz Antonio Sacco as General Director of Ripple’s offices in Brazil shows that the company is confident in the potential of this region to boost the growth of the XRP ecosystem. Mr. Sacco has more than 10 years of experience in strategic positions with companies in the IT and finance sector such as IBM, American Express and SafetyPay.

However, beyond Ripple’s efforts to increase its presence in the banking industry, the startup’s true strength could be in the business of cross-border remittances and the alternatives offered by certain fintechs to bank the unbanked. In this sense, businesses like Western Union, MoneyGram, Alipay, etc. have been associated as potential partners of Ripple in a world where banks have less prominence.

Western Union: Rethinking a Partnership With Ripple after MoneyGram’s Deal?

Hikmet Ersek CEO of Western Union confirmed that tthey are still testing and learning from Ripple
Hikmet Ersek

After Western Union announced that Ripple’s technology was not cost-effective for them, the company behind XRP went ahead and a just few days ago announced a strategic partnership with Western Union competitor MoneyGram in which they acquired about 10% of the company’s shares.

This decision, of course, did not go unnoticed by the Western Union team, and on June 19, 2019, at Fortune’s Brainstorm Finance 2019, Hikmet Ersek CEO of Western Union confirmed that testing with Ripple never ceased and that the company is still testing solutions based on xRapid, XRP, and other Ripple technologies.

Ersek commented that he was not opposed to the possibility of a partnership with Ripple at a time when favorable conditions are in place for both companies.

“I just saw Brad coming to this meeting and I said “Hey Brad”, you know, I congratulated him to this deal.

Obviously, MoneyGram needed something and Ripple needed something and that sounds as a good deal. But for us, we are ok with our settlement system … but, look, hey, I’m open, any cost savings, any innovation. I’m there. We can sign a deal tomorrow”

The announcement of the deal with MoneyGram caused an increase in the value of its shares by more than 70%. Also, XRP had a sustained increase for a week reaching monthly highs, something positive especially considering that the token has not had a behavior that corresponds to the successes achieved by Ripple during 2019.

Western Union is Still testing Ripple and is Open to Sign a Deal, its CEO Says 11