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While clashing in court with US regulators, Ripple Labs continues to launch its XRP-powered cross-border payment product, On-Demand Liquidity (ODL), in new regions of the world.
ODL works by leveraging XRP to eliminate the necessity for pre-funded accounts in cross-border payments. The San Francisco-based company announced this week that it is deploying ODL in the Middle East for the first time.
The Middle East is home to two of the world’s largest remittance corridors in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The two countries saw a combined $78 billion in payments last year, according to Ripple.
To first launch ODL in the UAE, Ripple is partnering with Pyypl, a blockchain-based financial services technology company operating in the Middle East and Africa. No XRP will be held in the UAE, and the payment flow won’t involve the dirham (AED), which is the national currency. Pyypl already operates ODL in the Philippines.
According to Brooks Entwistle, managing director of RippleNet in Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Middle East/North Africa (MENA),
“MENA continues to be a critical region for Ripple thanks to our outstanding roster of customers, a welcoming regulatory environment and a regional focus on the needed improvements in the current financial system.
The establishment of yet another first-in-market ODL launch demonstrates the understanding that digital assets will play a central role in the future of global payments.”
Ripple also deployed ODL to Japan for the first time back in July.
