• Ripple Partners With Brazilian Exchange Mercado Bitcoin to Offer Business-Focused Payments Solution
• Mercado Bitcoin plans to offer its corporate and retail customers support for international payments, allowing users to transact with Brazilian Reais
• Ripple’s partnership with Mercado Bitcoin aims to facilitate cross-border payments and expand the adoption of crypto and blockchain technology in Brazil
Ripple has partnered with Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin to offer its corporate and retail customers support for international payments. This will allow users to transact using Brazilian Reais.
Partnership Details
Through this partnership, Mercado Bitcoin will utilize Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) solution, which leverages the digital asset XRP to eliminate the need for pre-funding accounts in destination currencies.
ODL enables instant cross-border payments by using XRP as a bridge between the sending and receiving currency. This improves efficiency and reduces costs compared to traditional international payment methods.
Ripple’s ODL leverages the company’s RippleNet network of over 300 providers worldwide to enable seamless transfers between different currencies.
Market Opportunity in Brazil
The partnership presents a significant opportunity for Ripple to expand in the Brazilian market. Brazil accounts for nearly half of all remittance flows within Latin America.
There is strong potential to reduce costs on these remittances through solutions like ODL. According to Luiz Antonio Sacco, Managing Director at Ripple for South America, remittance costs to Brazil currently average nearly 10%.
The partnership will also allow Ripple to grow its presence in the broader Latin American region. The company currently has over 15 partners in Latin America.
Mercado Bitcoin’s Plans
For Mercado Bitcoin, the partnership will enable the exchange to better meet the needs of its rapidly growing customer base. The exchange currently has over 2 million users.
The integration with RippleNet will allow Mercado Bitcoin to provide its corporate customers with lower cost and instant payment options for global transactions and remittances.
The exchange also plans to eventually offer Ripple’s ODL solution to its retail users. This will provide individual users with enhanced payment capabilities.
Conclusion
The partnership between Ripple and Mercado Bitcoin demonstrates the strong potential for blockchain-based solutions to improve payments infrastructure in global markets. As one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Latin America, Mercado Bitcoin is an ideal partner for Ripple in the region. The integration of RippleNet and ODL stands to provide significant efficiency and cost benefits for both businesses and consumers in Brazil.