Blockchain payments firm Ripple has expanded its payments network to Portugal, furthering its European expansion.
On February 10, Ripple announced a partnership with Portuguese currency exchange provider Unicâmbio to establish a new payments corridor between Portugal and Brazil, leveraging its Ripple Payments solution for faster and more efficient cross-border transactions.
This partnership is also the first time Ripple’s payments solution is being used in Portugal.
As part of the collaboration, Unicâmbio’s corporate clients will be able to move money between Portugal and Brazil in minutes, cutting out delays and high fees that come with traditional payment channels.
Commenting on the development, Adriana Jerónimo, an executive board member at Unicâmbio, highlighted that Portugal and Brazil share strong economic and cultural ties, “with significant money flows between the two countries.”
She noted that by using blockchain technology, the partnership is “transforming money movement” between the two countries.
According to Jerónimo, Ripple’s crypto-powered payments solution will enable “near-instant settlement” while significantly cutting costs compared to traditional alternatives.
Meanwhile, Cassie Craddock Ripple’s managing director for the UK & European regions, praised Portugal’s “thriving crypto ecosystem,” adding that the partnership will strengthen financial ties between these two major markets.
The current partnership expanded into Brazil last year, where the company teamed up with local crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin to roll out Ripple Payments.
That move introduced Ripple’s first fully managed end-to-end payments solution to the Latin American market.
Using Ripple’s solution the exchange was also able to enhance its treasury operations.
Beyond Mercado Bitcoin, Ripple has steadily strengthened its presence in Brazil ever since setting up offices in the country in 2019.
In 2022, the company partnered with Travelex Bank to introduce its on-demand liquidity solution.
The announcement also mentioned that Ripple Payments has “near-global coverage,” and has handled over $70 billion in transactions across 90+ payout markets, which makes up more than 90% of the daily foreign exchange market.
“As the global cross-border payments market continues to expand, more institutions like Unicâmbio are leaning in to benefit from the inherent benefits of blockchain technology,” Craddock added.
Ripple continues expansion
Ripple hasn’t slowed down its expansion efforts even after facing a lot of regulatory pressure in the United States where it has been locked in a legal battle with the SEC over allegations that XRP was sold as an unregistered security.
Last month, the company secured Money Transmitter Licenses in New York and Texas which will allow it to introduce Ripple Payments for US-based businesses.
Before that in October 2024, Ripple acquired licenses in two jurisdictions.
First, it received in-principle approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority and just days later got the Major Payments Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Expansion of Ripple’s payment infrastructure also follows the launch of the company’s dollar-pegged stablecoin Ripple USD, which had a market cap of over $53 million at press time.
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