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XRP has flown upwards this week, after various news reports and positive announcements. For the first time in quite a long time, XRP seems to have embarked on an upswing. Of course, the climb was limited by the overarching negative trend of the markets, but this didn’t stop XRP moving from a low of $0.255, up to a weekly high of $0.333.

By all accounts, this week's high is the highest figure recorded for XRP since the very start of September.

There have been a number of news pieces and announcements that have had a very positive impact on the value of XRP, namely one announcement that suggests a full, commercial scale roll out of Ripple’s xRapid is set to hit us within the next two months. This is significant, as it will finally allow large financial institutions to start to tap into a blockchain technology designed by Ripple, one that also utilises and is complemented by the technology behind XRP.

Whilst the xRapid news is now somewhat history (until the roll out actually takes place) Ripple have since made a couple of more official announcements, announcements that have focused on RippleNet. As it stands, there are still no official statements from Ripple that highlight a specific date for the roll out of xRapid, therefore for now, it’s something we are going to have to be patient with.

The first of the Ripple announcements is one that confirms the full scale of RippleNet’s international expansion.

If you need a reminder, here’s a basic overview of RippleNet:

“RippleNet provides financial institutions that handle remittances and SME transactions in emerging markets a unique advantage, by streamlining their payment flows making them faster, more transparent and cheaper. Remitters and SMEs across the world, and particularly in emerging markets, are no longer hampered by an inefficient global payments infrastructure. Transactions on RippleNet are instant and tracked end-to-end, allowing money to move across borders and into new markets without impediment.”

A part of Ripple’s major goal is to provide a flawless remittance payment service, as you can see, RippleNet is playing a huge part in this, as per the official Ripple announcement:

“As of today, RippleNet is active in over 40 countries across six continents. New payment corridors have opened up in North America, Asia, Africa, Europe and South America. This provides new access to better international payment services in markets where remitters and SMEs are in the most need. What’s more, RippleNet’s newest corridors have a combined potential market that totals over $2 Billion in inflows over the last year.”

This is exciting news as it really does highlight the full scale of Ripple’s expansion. With 40 countries now regularly using RippleNet to facilitate remittance payments, Ripple are going to gain notoriety for having a useful, reliable and working technology, one that has the capacity to continue to grow, across the world.

The next announcement from Ripple is one that brings PNC Bank and RippleNet together. PNC Bank is considered one of the top ten banks in the United States. As a result of this new partnership, PNC customers will have instant access to RippleNet technologies and thus will be able to carry out instant cross border payments.

PNC Bank have more than 8 million customers across 19 branches in the United States. With this in mind, this is 8 million new customers, personal and institutional that will now have access to RippleNet for the facilitation of cross border payments. As a part of the official announcement, Ripple have included an example of how PNC Bank customers will benefit from this:

“A commercial client in Pennsylvania receiving a payment from a UK buyer will be able to receive payments against their invoices instantly, transforming the way they manage their accounts receivable and allowing them to better manage their working capital.”

In addition to PNC Bank, Ripple now have a growing portfolio of banks that are using RippleNet technology, these include Santander, American Express and SBI.

All together, this positive news from Ripple is having a good impact on XRP and moreover, is bringing the Ripple community back together. It seems that now, XRP is due to see a re-birth, one that will pump up its price and bring back some much needed hope to investors who might have been feeling a little deflated of late.

Ripple International Expansion Announcement

Ripple PNC Bank Announcement