Ripple completes $50M commitment to MoneyGram with $20M investment
Money transfer company MoneyGram today announced that it has received another $20 million from blockchain service provider Ripple.
Ripple made a $50 million investment commitment to MoneyGram, putting in the first $30 million in June. This time, Ripple purchased the firm’s newly issued equity at $4.10 per share, a price much higher than MoneyGram's current market valuation.
"Our partnership with Ripple is transformative for both the traditional money transfer and digital asset industry - for the first time ever, we're settling currencies in seconds,” said Alex Holmes, MoneyGram Chairman and CEO.
Based in Dallas, Texas, MoneyGram aims to provide a platform for customers around the world to quickly and securely send and receive money. Users can make transactions through the firm’s online or mobile platforms, at one of its global agent locations, or using a kiosk.
Since MoneyGram partnered with Ripple in June, it has utilized On-Demand Liquidity—Ripple’s XRP-powered payments platform—to move around 10% of its Mexican peso foreign exchange trading volume and has expanded its cross-border transactions to Europe, Australia, and the Philippines. The new funding will allow the firm to continue using On-Demand Liquidity to increase its trading volume, according to the press release.
"Digital assets and blockchain technology have the potential to make a tremendous impact on cross-border payments - MoneyGram and Ripple is an example of that," said Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple's CEO. "In June, we announced this partnership, and it's encouraging to see the rapid growth and benefits come to life."
