Bank of America Applauds Ripple Labs: Possible Partnership?

In a new report, the Bank of America acknowledged the role of Ripple Labs in improving how payments are made in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The report points out how blockchain technology, which Ripple uses, can improve trade and payments.

Bank of America understands that technology can make real-time payments easier. APIs, or tools that allow different software to work together, are key to this. Es Venkat, who leads Treasury Products APAC at Bank of America, said, “We’re already seeing Open Banking become a reality in EMEA, with APIs being used to create many new use cases.”

While blockchain has been useful for digitizing trade documents and smart contracts, it has not been as successful for cross-border payments. However, Bank of America recognizes Ripple as a "possible exception" in this area.

Ripple has partnered with many important financial institutions globally, like SBI Holdings and American Express. But its relationship with Bank of America has been a big topic of discussion.

In April 2020, Julie Harris, the Head of Global Banking at Bank of America, confirmed the partnership with Ripple in a podcast episode. She said the bank aims to let its customers make transactions anytime and anywhere with the help of new solutions like Ripple.

There are also rumors that Bank of America might use Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) product once Ripple's legal issues with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are solved.

At the time of writing, the price of XRP, Ripple's cryptocurrency, was $0.46