How XRP is Revolutionizing Cross-Border Payments

February 17, 2026 · 10 min read

Wire $10,000 from the U.S. to Thailand via traditional banking. You'll pay $25-$50 in fees, wait 3-5 business days, and the recipient will lose another 3-5% to currency conversion markups. If it's Friday afternoon, add the weekend to your wait time.

Now do the same transaction via XRP on the XRP Ledger. Cost: $0.0002. Settlement: 3-5 seconds. Currency conversion: near-instant via XRPL's built-in DEX. Available 24/7, including weekends and holidays.

This isn't a future vision. It's happening now. MoneyGram, SBI Remit, Tranglo, and hundreds of financial institutions are replacing legacy payment rails with XRP-based settlements. Here's how and why.

The Legacy Problem: SWIFT and Correspondent Banking

When you send money internationally, it doesn't go directly from your bank to the recipient's bank. It hops through a network of correspondent banks — intermediaries that hold accounts in multiple currencies.

Here's what happens:

• Your bank doesn't have a relationship with the recipient's bank, so it sends the money to a correspondent bank that does
• The correspondent bank might route through another correspondent bank if no direct relationship exists
• Each hop takes time (1-3 days) and costs money ($10-$25 per intermediary)
• Currency conversion happens at opaque exchange rates (banks pocket the spread)
• Errors in routing codes (SWIFT BIC, IBAN) can delay transfers for weeks

SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is the messaging system banks use to coordinate these transfers. It's 50 years old. It wasn't designed for the internet era.

The Real Costs:

• Fees: Average 6.5% for remittances (World Bank data, Q4 2025)
• Time: 3-5 days for most corridors, up to 2 weeks for some
• Trapped capital: Correspondent banks hold $27 trillion in nostro/vostro accounts (capital that could be deployed elsewhere)
• Opacity: Senders don't know final cost or arrival time until after the transaction completes

For businesses, this is expensive inefficiency. For individuals in developing countries who rely on remittances, it's a poverty tax.

The XRP Solution: Blockchain as Settlement Layer

XRP eliminates correspondent banks by using a blockchain bridge currency.

How it works:

• Step 1: Sender's bank converts USD to XRP on a regulated exchange (or via RippleNet ODL partner)
• Step 2: XRP transfers on the XRP Ledger (3-5 seconds, $0.0002 fee)
• Step 3: Recipient's bank converts XRP to local currency (THB, PHP, MXN, etc.) via another exchange

Total time: Seconds to minutes (depending on exchange liquidity), not days.

Total cost: ~0.5-1.5% (exchange spreads + XRP transaction fee), not 6.5%.

Why This Works:

• No pre-funded accounts — Banks don't need to hold capital in foreign correspondent banks
• Real-time settlement — No multi-day clearing process
• Global liquidity — XRP has deep liquidity on exchanges worldwide
• Transparency — All parties see the exact status of the transaction on-chain

Real-World Adoption: Who's Using XRP?

MoneyGram

One of the world's largest remittance companies. Integrated XRP via Ripple's On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) in 2019. Settlements to Philippines, Mexico, and other key corridors now happen in seconds instead of days.

Impact: Reduced working capital needs by millions. Faster settlements mean better FX rates (less exposure to currency fluctuations).

SBI Remit (Japan → Southeast Asia)

SBI Holdings' remittance arm uses XRP for transfers from Japan to Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand. Dominated by Filipino workers in Japan sending money home.

Impact: Customers get better rates and instant delivery. SBI captures market share from Western Union and traditional banks.

Tranglo (Malaysia-based payment hub)

Integrated RippleNet ODL to power cross-border payments across Asia-Pacific. Supports 100+ markets and 70+ currencies.

Impact: Enabled real-time settlements for e-wallets and banks in underserved corridors (e.g., Malaysia → Myanmar).

Santander (UK → Latin America)

One of Europe's largest banks. Launched "Santander One Pay FX" using Ripple technology (non-XRP initially, XRP for some corridors now).

Impact: Same-day international transfers for retail customers, undercutting traditional wire transfer pricing.

Central Bank Pilots

Bhutan's Royal Monetary Authority and Palau's central bank are piloting XRPL for CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies). If successful, these would use XRPL rails for international settlements between governments.

The Economics: Why XRP Beats Stablecoins

You might ask: "Why not just use USDC or USDT (stablecoins) for cross-border transfers?"

Stablecoins work for USD-denominated transfers, but they have limitations:

XRP Advantages:

• Native XRPL asset — No smart contract risk, no USDC blacklist concerns
• Decentralized — No single issuer can freeze XRP (unlike USDC/USDT)
• Higher liquidity — XRP has $30B+ daily trading volume across global exchanges
• Currency-neutral bridge — XRP can bridge any currency pair (not just fiat → USD → fiat)
• Regulatory clarity — XRP is not a security per the 2024 SEC court ruling (stablecoin regulations are still evolving)

Stablecoins work well for USD transfers. XRP works well for any currency transfers.

On-Demand Liquidity (ODL): The Ripple Product

Ripple (the company) offers ODL as a productized version of XRP-based settlements. Financial institutions integrate via API, and Ripple handles:

• Exchange partnerships — Ripple works with regulated exchanges (Bitstamp, Bitso, etc.) for fiat ↔ XRP conversion
• Liquidity management — Ripple ensures sufficient XRP liquidity in all corridors
• Compliance — KYC/AML screening, regulatory reporting
• FX optimization — Smart routing to get best exchange rates

Banks and payment providers don't need to understand blockchain — they just integrate an API that makes international transfers faster and cheaper.

Current ODL Corridors:

• United States → Mexico
• United States → Philippines
• Japan → Philippines
• Australia → Philippines
• Europe → Mexico
• United Kingdom → Mexico/Philippines

More corridors are added as exchange liquidity improves in new markets.

The Liquidity Question: Does XRP Have Enough?

Critics ask: "What if everyone tries to use XRP at once? Won't liquidity dry up?"

The numbers say no:

• XRP daily volume: $30-50B (across all exchanges)
• SWIFT daily volume: $5-6 trillion
• Current ODL volume: ~$500M-$1B/month (estimate based on on-chain data)

Even if ODL volume 10x'd overnight, it would still be a tiny fraction of available XRP liquidity. The real constraint is exchange liquidity in local currencies (e.g., XRP/PHP pairs), not XRP itself.

As adoption grows, market makers and exchanges add liquidity where demand exists. This is already happening — every major ODL corridor has seen liquidity improvements over the past 3 years.

Cost Comparison: XRP vs. Traditional Wire

Let's model a real remittance scenario: $500 sent from U.S. to Philippines

Traditional Wire (Bank → Bank via SWIFT)

• Sender bank fee: $45
• Correspondent bank fee: $15
• FX markup: 3% ($15)
• Recipient receives: ~$425
• Total cost: 15% ($75)
• Time: 3-5 business days

Via XRP (RippleNet ODL or Similar)

• Service provider fee: 1% ($5)
• XRP transfer fee: $0.0002
• FX spread: ~0.5% ($2.50)
• Recipient receives: ~$492.50
• Total cost: 1.5% ($7.50)
• Time: Seconds to minutes

Savings: $67.50 per transaction. 10x faster. That's not hype — that's operational reality for users of MoneyGram and SBI Remit today.

Business Use Cases Beyond Remittances

XRP isn't just for individuals sending money home. Businesses are using it too:

Supply Chain Payments

Companies with international suppliers can pay invoices in seconds instead of waiting for wire transfers. Better cash flow for suppliers (faster payment) and buyers (only pay when goods are verified delivered via blockchain confirmation).

Freelancer/Contractor Payments

Platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, or custom freelancer marketplaces can pay international contractors instantly via XRP. Lower fees = contractors keep more earnings.

E-Commerce Cross-Border Settlements

Online marketplaces serving multiple countries can settle with merchants in their local currency using XRP as the bridge. Example: A European buyer purchases from a Southeast Asian seller. Platform uses XRP to settle EUR → XRP → local currency instantly.

Liquidity Management for Enterprises

Multinational corporations with subsidiaries worldwide can move capital between entities using XRP instead of expensive forex conversions and wire fees.

Challenges and Limitations

XRP isn't perfect. Here are the real challenges:

Regulatory Uncertainty (Historically)

The SEC's lawsuit against Ripple (2020-2023) created regulatory uncertainty. The 2024 ruling clarified that XRP itself is not a security, but institutional adoption was slower during the legal battle. This is now largely resolved.

Exchange Liquidity in Emerging Markets

Not every currency pair has deep XRP liquidity yet. For example, XRP/NGN (Nigerian Naira) has far less liquidity than XRP/MXN (Mexican Peso). As adoption grows, liquidity follows, but it's a chicken-and-egg problem.

Price Volatility

XRP price can fluctuate during the transfer process. If it takes 30 seconds to convert USD → XRP → PHP, and XRP drops 2% in that time, the recipient loses 2%. Ripple mitigates this with fast execution and hedging, but it's still a risk.

Last-Mile Delivery

XRPL gets the money to the recipient's country instantly, but if the recipient's bank takes 2 days to process the deposit, the end-to-end experience is still slow. This is improving as more banks integrate directly with RippleNet.

The Future: Where This Goes

As of 2026, XRP-based cross-border payments are in early scaling phase. Adoption is real but still a tiny fraction of global payment volume.

What's likely to happen:

• More corridors — Ripple is expanding ODL to Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia
• CBDC integration — Central banks testing XRPL for digital currency settlements (Bhutan, Palau, potentially others)
• Instant cross-border for retail banking — More banks offering "send money abroad instantly" as a standard feature
• Competition from stablecoins — USDC, USDT, and potential USD-backed CBDCs will compete for corridors where USD is an acceptable intermediary

The legacy system won't disappear overnight, but XRP is proving that 3-second, low-cost settlements are possible. Once customers experience it, they won't tolerate 3-day, high-fee transfers.

Track XRP Cross-Border Activity

Want to see this in action? XRPL Analytics tracks on-chain payment flows, DEX activity, and liquidity metrics in real-time. You can monitor ODL corridors, XRP liquidity pools, and transaction volumes as they happen.

If you're a business exploring XRP for payments or tokenization, check out TokenForge's guide to real-world asset tokenization — XRP's compliance features make it strong for regulated use cases.

The cross-border payment revolution is happening now. XRP is at the center of it.