Cross River Bank, an FDIC-insured U.S. lender, has gone live with Ripple’s settlement protocol to process real-time cross-border payments. The service targets both business and personal accounts, with funds moving between the United States and Western Europe in seconds — a stark contrast to the 1-3 day wait time typical of SWIFT transfers.
The bank confirmed that the integration meets full anti-money laundering and sanctions screening compliance. “Customers expect banking to be as fast as the internet,” said Gilles Gade, president and CEO of Cross River Bank. “Speed without security is not an option. Ripple gives us a faster, cheaper payment rail that still meets regulatory requirements.”
Cost cuts and liquidity gains
Cross River estimates per-transaction costs will drop by more than 60%, according to its own conservative projections. The bank said the Ripple protocol supports straight-through processing and does not require reserve funding from participants — a design that frees up capital for smaller institutions that previously could not afford to pre-fund FX positions.
“Financial services are accelerating, and partnerships with banks like Cross River let Ripple embed itself into the backbone of the U.S. banking system,” said Chris Larsen, CEO and co-founder of Ripple Labs.
First of many?
Cross River joins Fidor Bank and other financial institutions already using Ripple’s network, but its customer base is considerably larger. The bank’s infrastructure supports multi-currency settlements, suggesting expansion to Asia-Pacific and Latin America is technically feasible once regulatory approvals are secured.
For now, the real-time corridor is limited to the U.S. and Western Europe. The bank declined to provide a timeline for additional markets.