“TransferWise used the conference to announce a partnership Monday with French banking group BPCE, saying it will offer its low-cost money transfer service to the lender's customers. The service will be integrated via the group's banking apps starting in 2019. Kaarmann claimed that BPCE is going to become "the largest bank in the world that is transparent with pricing," adding it will also become the cheapest bank in France for those looking to move money abroad.”

Money transfer services are somewhat of a commodity these days. With the internet, comes great connectivity and with that, comes a greater need to transfer finances abroad. The reasons for needing such transactions are frankly endless. Maybe you need to send money to relatives, maybe you are purchasing products from abroad, maybe even, you have a remote employee who works aboard and thus need to send them their salary. Companies such as Western Union and MoneyGram provide an easy and relatively affordable format to facilitate such transfers, however, as we know, outside of the blockchain such transfers can take a long time to authenticate. Therefore, companies such as Santander, with the OnePayFX app are starting to tap into the blockchain, namely Ripple technology to provide an even cheaper and quicker alternative to the traditional bank – bank money transfer solution. A new report by CNBC today states that TransferWise, a Fintech firm which specialises in international money transfer believe that cryptocurrencies are not the future for international money transfers, something that is often considered as an ultimate goal for Ripple’s XRP. According to CNBC, TransferWise have joined forced with French banking group, BPCE, with the aim to become the largest money transfer firm in the world, offering the cheapest prices available, something that really does seem to be on Ripple’s radar. Much like Ripple, TransferWise want to make currency ‘borderless’. According to CNBC:See the full CNBC report for yourself, here- https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/04/the-egyptian-pound-is-more-useful-than-cryptocurrencies-transferwise-ceo-says.html Why is this relevant to Ripple? Well, as we know, Ripple’s services xRapid, xVia and xCurrent are all a part of Ripple’s money transfer technology, a technology that is using the blockchain to offer financial solutions to banks, the likes of which would include BPCE. Because of this, it looks as if TransferWise are stepping on the toes of Ripple. We’re not saying this is an intentional move by TransferWise, but we are pretty sure that this will have put a spanner in the works of Ripple. It is interesting to see how traditional banking is still at the fore of money transfer, despite blockchain methods being evidently cheaper and quicker. As a result of this, it’ll be interesting to see how the TransferWise and BPCE partnership develops. With the pair unlikely to delve into the blockchain, Ripple might be kicking themselves over this one.