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- Ripple has announced a new investment in the subsidiary of investment giant SBI Holdings, MoneyTap.
- The cash injection is intended to accelerate development and drive new features such as a community currency and more.
Ripple and SBI Holdings are long-standing partners who have already founded a joint venture called SBI Ripple Asia in 2016. A few hours ago it was announced in a press release that Ripple is again investing in MoneyTap, a subsidiary of SBI Holdings. The cooperation is best known for providing the MoneyTap app, which uses Ripple’s blockchain technology to process cross-border payments quickly and cost-effectively.
Investment to drive development and adaptation
By using MoneyTap, it is possible to execute and confirm payments almost in real time by simply scanning a QR code. The app was already introduced in October 2018 and is financially supported by Japan’s leading banking consortium SBI Holdings. The big long-term goal is to convince all 61 banks of the consortium to use the app for their customers. Most recently, Japan’s second largest bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), with assets under management of $2,036 trillion, also invested in the App. The additional provision of new financial resources is intended to decisively advance the development and adaptation:
Through this latest investment by Ripple, Money Tap will further strengthen its partnership with Ripple and accelerate the development of new functions and new services including a small-amount collection service and corporate payment function, a community currency, an overseas remittance service, inbound and outbound remittance services, and a supply chain finance function, aiming to increase customer satisfaction through greater convenience.
The app aims to convince players in the financial world of the advantages of new technologies and to use them to the advantage of their own business:
By forming an ecosystem with financial institutions, and business operators such as payment providers and fintech companies, Money Tap aims to realize a customer experience that allows customers to receive various services with peace of mind, convenience and at low prices.
Japan could become the new main location for Ripple
As Brad Garlinghouse criticized in a recent interview and on Twitter, site conditions in the United States of America are not conducive to the further development of his company. Accordingly, Ripple is currently considering moving its headquarters to London in the United Kingdom or Japan. In the UK, the digital asset XRP is not a security, so the regulatory framework is clear and business-friendly. Japan is one of Ripple’s most important markets, so a change of location here is also conceivable.