Ripple partners with Onafriq for African cross-border payment channels

Ripple Labs, the San Francisco-based payments firm, has partnered with South African fintech company Onafriq to expand remittance payment capabilities in Africa and across its borders with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the U.K. and Australia.  

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Fast Facts

• The collaboration will open three new blockchain-based payment channels between Onafriq users in Africa and three of its partner firms, namely U.K.-based fintech firm PayAngel., Abu Dhabi-based digital Wallet Pyypl that serves users in the GCC and Australia-based payments company Zazi Transfer. 

• The payment channels will enable users to execute low cost remittance and business payments to recipients in 27 countries across Onafriq’s pan-African network.

• The new payment channels will utilize Ripple Payments, an XRP-enabled payments technology, to eliminate the lengthy transfer times and high costs associated with traditional remittance payments, Ripple said in a press release on Tuesday. 

• “Connecting our partners PayAngel, Pyppl and Zazi Transfer with Onafriq over Ripple Payments will bring the benefits of faster and more cost-effective cross-border payments to individuals seeking to send money into Africa from around the globe,” said Aaron Sears, senior vice president of global customer success at Ripple.

• XRP fell 1.46% in the 24 hours leading up to 5:15 p.m. in Hong Kong, to trade at US$0.68, according to CoinMarketCap.

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