Dive Brief:

PNC Bank launched on Ripple's blockchain payments platform RippleNet on Aug. 29, becoming the first U.S. bank to process cross border payments on the network.

The launch comes a year after PNC, which has $400 billion in assets, first announced it had joined Ripple's platform. The service is available to corporate clients of the bank's PNC Treasury Management unit, according to PYMNTS.

The partnership introduces the blockchain platform to PNC's 8 million customers. "[Using RippleNet will give us] the ability to receive a payment from an overseas buyer against their invoices instantly, transforming the way they manage their global account receivables and allowing them to better manage their working capital," a PNC spokesperson told FXStreet.

Dive Insight:

While Ripple already has a global portfolio of banks using the RippleNet network, the launch with PNC Bank marks a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency company as it partners with its first U.S. bank.

More than 200 banks, payment providers and digital asset exchanges around the globe use Ripple's network, according to its website.

Ripple, which was founded in Silicon Valley in 2012, developed the XRP cryptocurrency. The currency, which is designed to make international payments cheaper and faster, helps banks and financial institutions with international payments, according to Yahoo Finance UK.

The technology underlying cross-border payments has traditionally been "opaque, slow and costly, Marcus Treacher, senior vice president of customer success at Ripple, said in a statement released during last year's announcement of the PNC partnership.

"PNC, as an innovative and forward-thinking institution, understands the promise of emerging technologies like blockchain," he said. "Quite a few payment providers have joined RippleNet recently, so it's great to see one of the major U.S. banks come on board as well. We view that as a sign of a diverse, healthy and growing network."

Backed by $94 million from investors such as Google, Santander, Standard Chartered, and Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Ripple appears poised to continue its growth.

"We're probably the largest investor in blockchain and crypto on the planet," Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse told Yahoo Finance UK last month, following the company's $30 million investment in money transfer business MoneyGram. "We've publicly announced we've made about $500 million [of investments] in the space over the last 18 months."