SBI Remit, the remittance arm of Japan's financial giant SBI Holdings, achieved a major milestone on the Japan-Philippines cross-border payment corridor. According to Stronghold Japan's analysis, direct settlement with XRP reduced costs by 60% compared to SWIFT in bank trials. Total transaction volume over SBI's payment infrastructure has surpassed $15 billion. This is seen as one of the leading real-world examples of XRP's use in institutional payments.
SBI Remit's XRP Corridor: Proven Cost Savings
Bank trials confirmed that settling directly with XRP slashed costs by 60% versus SWIFT, and the total volume on the SBI infrastructure now exceeds $15 billion. SBI Remit is especially active along Asia's cross-border payment routes, with the Japan-Philippines corridor serving as a prime use case.
Liquidity Pools and EVM Sidechain: Technical Expansion
The second core element is the rise of automated market maker (AMM) liquidity pools along Asian corridors. These pools are rapidly growing, targeting a monthly volume of nearly $24 million for June. This model gives major players an automatic, low-cost way to swap regional currencies without relying on traditional exchanges.
A third spotlight falls on a new sidechain built on Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) technology, now attracting large enterprises. To automate settlement processes, these firms have activated around 1,400 smart contracts on the network, with gas fees settled using XRP.
Regulatory Push and Retail Banking Pilot
Public initiatives across Asia represent the fourth driver. By Q2 2026, Ripple will have signed fresh agreements with central banks, further supported by enhancements to Japan's securities and financial instruments regulations and the ongoing digitization of the yen.
Integration is extending into retail banking. SBI Shinsei Bank has begun piloting a program allowing customers to directly receive interest in XRP from standard time deposit-like accounts. Stronghold Japan has also activated its own cross-chain bridge for the XRPL.
XRPL's June 15 Core Upgrade to v3.2.0
Market participants are watching the June 15 upgrade, when the XRPL network receives a core update to version 3.2.0. The upgrade aims to reduce server node loads for banks by 40% and rename the software from rippled to xrpld. Experts say the market's next move will become clearer after this upgrade.