Swift is testing a big blockchain book with more than 30 banks – what it means for XRP

International payments need a new layer of modern paint. Old -fashioned solutions of Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), Moneygram and Western Union are too slow and too expensive. More recent options such as Paypal (Pypl 3.01%)) Or Wise (Wize.y 0.81%)) are not always faster or less expensive.

Many investors see Xrp (XRP 1.68%)) And the integrated Ripplenet service as an obvious response. Ripple transactions can spend money from one country to another in a few seconds, with average costs of $ 0,0002 per transfer. Ripple Labs has established local banking partnerships in dozens of countries, making the transfer experience without seam for most users. Send a few dollars to Sweden, and your friend, uncle or e -commerce retailer immediately receives a handful of Swedish Kronor (SEK).

Surely, the XRP / Ripple system must disrupt international payments over time. No one else works on a modern and digital world money transfer platform, right?

Image source: Getty Images.

What the Swift Blockchain movement is (and is not) at this stage

Except that the good old Swift makes digital movements at the moment.

The organization based in Belgium has just launched its own crypto-propulsion payment system. It is not exactly a new service, but the addition of a large transaction book focused on blockchain to the existing Swift system. Effort involves more than 30 financial institutions, including global giants as America Bank (Bac -0.60%)),, Citi (C 0.30%)),, JPMorgan Chase (JPM 0.20%))And Toronto-Dominion Bank (Td 0.03%)). Some of these mega-banks were noisy criticism of blockchain solutions in the past; It’s nice to see them on the other side of the argument here.

The first step is a conceptual prototype at the start of the stage by Ethereum (Eth 4.43%)) Developer consensys. This approach combines decades of strengthening Swift’s confidence with a large fast, secure and inexpensive digital book, most likely using tokens on Ethereum blockchain.

“A large shared book, created with the Swift community, offers transparency and interoperability, two priorities to effectively manage cross -border payments in a 24/7 world,” said AJ McCray, responsible for world payments at Bank of America, in a prepared statement.

What this means for XRP at the moment (spoiler alert: not yet much)

XRP investors will note that the announcement on Monday has not erased the Ripple token from the cryptography market. XRP won 0.2% on Monday – a little slower than Bitcoin‘s (BTC 2.00%)) 2.5% jump or an increase in prices of 2.3% Ethereum, but still a solid price gain.

The ambition of Swift’s Blockchain is simply not so serious – however.

You see, Swift seems to contain most of the cards in this game. The rumor wants the group also kicking the tires of a payment system based on XRP. There can be other blockchain programs in preparation that simply saw daylight and have still made the headlines.

Indeed, Swift could end up with several new transaction rails which can manage payments faster and cheaper than the old wires. A future version of the Ethereum system could be side by side with an XRP configuration of the undulation type. Other options could include versatile blockchain platforms such as Pea (POINT 6.85%)),, Solara (GROUND 2.68%))Or Avalanche (Avax 3.34%)). I’m not saying that these cryptos have absolutely an active fast job, but I would certainly not be surprised to hear the news.

Swift and XRP play long game

Basically, blockchains and cryptocurrencies are only a new way to manage secure transactions and property worldwide. I do not see any reason why Swift should not explore these major digital books in several simultaneous development projects.

One day, different Swift transactions could simply use different back-end systems, depending on what is best in each specific case. If I am on the right track with this line of thought, I am sure that XRP will manage a lot of this business. Again, Ethereum and perhaps even the old banking messaging systems.

Only time will say what Swift will look like in 5 or 10 years, or what cryptocurrencies will shape the group’s services over time. But Swift does not settle in this good night, rather choosing to explore the new world of digital payments. This is not the end of XRP hopes and dreams, but perhaps the start of a faster rapid experience.