British FX Firm Currencies Direct Pilots Ripple Tech

A foreign exchange brokerage based in the UK has announced that it successfully tested distributed ledger startup Ripple's xRapid product, which uses the digital asset XRP. Currencies Direct said Monday that it conducted several money transfers using xRapid, which it claimed were completed within seconds compared to the use of traditional systems, which can take upwards of five days.

The company called the pilot "a technological proof of concept for XRP as a means of value transfer, achieving superior speed of payment and end-to-end transparency," according to the release.

Currencies Direct chief product officer Brian Harris went on to declare the pilot program "a resounding success," saying that using XRP to facilitate future transfers can help the firm "Significantly improve" customer service.

"Our goal is to offer the best possible service. We believe that utilizing cryptocurrencies in this way - as a transfer of value, rather than as a store of value - is the next logical step for our industry. It is, after all, the intended purpose of cryptocurrencies and we're proud to be leveraging new technology to deliver the most convenient and seamless experience for our customers."

Harris added that the pilot's success "Represents a revolutionary step for the industry," according to the release.

Ripple released the results of several xRapid-based pilots earlier this month, pointing to an overall drop in both transaction times and related fees for those who took part in the tests.

Elsewhere, financial firms have recently begun utilizing blockchain technology to reduce foreign transaction costs and times.

Last week, Germany-based Commerzbank facilitated a 500,000 euro transfer using R3's Corda platform.

The bank transferred the funds on behalf of multinational conglomerate Thyssenkrupp, which was able to confirm that the transaction occurred successfully immediately, rather than have to wait for confirmation, as previously reported.

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