This episode of The Ripple Drop takes you on the ground at Swell 2019 in Singapore. We connected with RippleNet customers including goLance CEO Michael Brooks about the impact of On-Demand Liquidity on their business. In addition, Celent Sr. Analyst for Corporate Banking Alenka Grealish revealed findings from the 2019 Blockchain in Payments Report.

Swell 2019: On-Demand Liquidity Is a Game Changer

RippleNet customers from key corridors around the world attended Swell 2019 in November. Ripple’s SVP of Customer Success Marcus Treacher explained that customers are excited about using On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) to eliminate pre-funded accounts using the digital asset XRP.

Following the launch of ODL at Swell 2018, RippleNet has seen tremendous growth and customer interest in the service. In 2019 from Q1 to the end of October, there were more than 7x transactions on the network using ODL.

For early adopters like goLance Founder and CEO Michael Brooks, the value of ODL was obvious. Brooks took to the stage during the event for a panel on ODL impact and also sat down to discuss why his company’s network of freelancers depend on RippleNet’s ODL.

“RippleNet has been great because it helps us pay faster to some of the most challenging corridors that offer the greatest opportunity, like the Philippines,” said Brooks. “If we have 5000 people to pay, we have 5000 people that need that money immediately. Working with Ripple has helped us deliver payments faster and without the constraints of the weekend, and that has been really impactful to our business.”

The Flywheel Set in Motion: 2019 Blockchain in Payments Report

The second annual Blockchain in Payments Report was released during Swell 2019 and its findings revealed widespread adoption of blockchain based payments by financial service providers.

Sr. Analyst for Corporate Banking at Celent, Alenka Grealish, explained that the findings showed that banks and payment providers had already taken the leap into blockchain technology.

“If you think about adoption as a bell curve, you’ve got innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. The toughest point is moving from early adopters to the early majority phase,” said Grealish. “With 35% of respondents saying that they’re in implementation means we’ve crossed the chasm.”

Grealish explained that a heavy industry flywheel requires a massive amount of energy to complete its first rotation. The value of the technology to users has pushed the industry toward adoption and started turning the wheel.

“We’ve seen that first rotation and now we’re seeing the flywheel set in motion,” said Grealish. “And that involves ease of implementation, regulatory clarity as well as a boost perhaps from digital assets.”

If you’ve missed any of our Swell 2019 content you can register here to watch all the full sessions. And if you’ve missed previous episodes of The Ripple Drop catch up with us on Youtube.