xRapid being used is the major announcement made at the Swell Conference this year. Three new echanges partnered with Ripple to settle payments using XRP.

If you’re unfamiliar with Ripple’s payment protocols, I wrote an in-depth article discussing xCurrent, xVia and xRapid.

Ripple held their annual Swell Conference at the home of Ripple’s headquarters – San Francisco.

The following is the Swell Conference 2018 agenda at a glance.

As seen in the 2018 Swell Conference agenda, Bill Clinton was the keynote speaker.

Here’s a photo of Bill Clinton on stage with Brad Garlinghouse.

Photo credit Emi Yoshikawa

Here are some opening remarks made by Brad Garlinghouse at Ripple’s Swell conference 2018

Here’s a quick summary of his speech.

Big picture — changing the nature of how value moves. Over the next couple of decades, great changes can happen to commerce and society by reducing friction of payments.

Brad mentions how Chris Larson has had an amazing track record of seeing behind walls — being able to see future possibilities.



He notes how the cost of sending a text message 10 years ago was 25 cents; how it went down to 10 cents and is now virtually free.

He spoke about internet of value and how the mission is to remove friction from global payments.

Brad states there is $10 trillion dollars trapped around the world due to prefunded bank accounts.

Points out how Uber pays drivers every two weeks and how Uber would want to pay their drivers immediately upon customer drop-off.



Brad notes an important fact that RippleNet has network effects and the more nodes on the network, the more value there is to join the network.

Announcements Made at Ripple’s Swell Conference 2018

October 1st, 2018 Ripple announced xRapid going live. The following financial institutions are using xRapid to complete transactions in seconds.

Three New Partner Financial Institutions with xRapid Being Used

Mercury FX

xRapid being used by Mercury FX gives them a hassle-free and cost-effective alternative to banks for global transactions. In addition, their service is provided free of charge.

More notably, they have exchange rates cheaper than banks and tout their customers save an average 3% vs bank costs.

Cuallix

Cuallix has been in business for 25 years and has operations in The United States, Mexico and Hong Kong. They provide credit and payment processing solutions to both companies and individuals.

In addition, some of their key benefits include the ability to have multiple accounts and use multiple different currencies.

Their ability to provide these quality services are all thanks to xRapid being used. These are obvious benefits to using Ripple XRP.

Catalyst Corporate Federal Credit Union

Catalyst Federal Credit Union is the final company announced to be using Ripple’s xRapid protocol. They offer liquidity, settlement and cash management services.

More of Ripple’s Swell Conference 2018 Talks

Banco Santander’s Ed Metzger and One Pay FX

Banco Santander’s Head of Innovation Ed Metzger took the stage to discuss his One Pay FX app. One Pay FX is the first blockchain powered cross-border payments app.

He starts his speech with a few words on Santander. Stating Santander is the largest bank in Eurozone.

In addition, Ed Metzger states Santander has a deep presence in over 10 markets (primarily in Europe and Latin-America). While later noting that Santander is primarily a retail and commercial bank.

Mr. Metzger goes on to explain how Santander spoke with their customers and consistently heard some of the same data points. That is their customers are used to getting things fast.

He exemplifies how in this current age, you and I are used to having all the information at our fingertips.

He states that after looking at a number of alternatives, Santander decided to work with Ripple. They have been working with Ripple for the last two or three years.

After creating a number of proof of concepts (or pilots) in a couple of their markets, they were able to prove their hypothesis. The hypothesis of addressing their customers pain points using Ripple’s technology.

Based on the success of using Ripple’s technology, Santander was able to launch One Pay FX. One Pay FX was launched in four markets simultaneously — the UK, Spain, Brazil and Poland.

Sunil Sabharwal Shares His Perspective on Global Cryptoasset and Fintech Regulation

Central Banks Show and Tell

In this segment Dilip Rao, Mohsen Alzahrani, Andrew McCormack and Marcelo Yard discuss working with Ripple.

More Details about the Speakers

Dilip Rao: Global Head of Infrastructure Innovation of Ripple.

Mohsen Alzahrani: Head of Innovation of Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority.

Andrew McCormack: Vice President of Payments and Technology of Payments Canada.

Marcelo Yard: CIO of Banco Central Do Brasil

Swell 2018: Cory Johnson – “We’re on the tipping point for mass adoption.”

Cory Johnson briefly states that we are right on the cusp of mass adoption based on Ripple’s survey results.

More and more people are actively looking at adopting Ripple’s technology.

Swell 2018: Crypto Regulation Around the World

Swell 2018: How Payments Improved our Customer Experience

Swell 2018: Survey Says…

Swell 2018: How We Improved Retail Remittances

Swell 2018: How We’re Solving the Cross-Settlement Network Problem Globally

Swell 2018: The Future of Commerce

Swell 2018: The 800 Pound Gorilla in the Room – Digital Asset Adoption

Swell 2018: Futurists in Blockchain and Payments

More Images From Ripple’s Swell Conference 2018

Image credit Emi Yoshikawa

Photo credit Emi Yoshikawa

Image Credit Emi Yoshikawa

Photo credit Emi Yoshikawa

Conclusion

xRapid being used in production is outstanding news for the development of frictionless payments. This year in Ripple’s Swell Conference 2018, Brad Garlinghouse announced three new partner institutions.

These new financial institutions now use Ripple’s xRapid protocol for payment settlement. In this article, I break down what each institution does and I tie in how xRapid will be used.

How do you feel about Ripple’s announcements. Did you expect them to announce xRapid going live with not one, but three institutions?

I look forward to reading your comments. If you found this article helpful, please share it with your friends as they may find it helpful as well.