Brad Chillum
According to businesstravelnews.com, payments networks American Express and Visa have partnered with separate blockchain startups, Ripple and Chain, to offer corporate clients business-to-business, crossborder, blockchain-enabled payments.
Mastercard announced a similar service in October, though it’s unclear whether the solution is proprietary or a partnership.
The Amex solution is limited to sending payments from the U.S. to businesses that bank with Santander in the U.K., but Amex says it could expand in the future.
Amex’s FX International Payments platform has integrated Ripple’s payment network RippleNet, which will route noncard payments to Santander. The companies claim transactions will be faster, less expensive and more transparent than existing methods while remaining just as secure.
Visa’s solution, Visa B2B Connect, which was announced last year, is in pilot with Commerce Bank in the U.S., Shinhan Bank in South Korea, UnionBank of Philippines and United Overseas Bank in Singapore. Visa similarly claims faster, more transparent and secure B-to-B payments between participating banks.
