Ripple partners with MoneyGram International Inc after blochain-technology company Ripple purhased a stake and entered a partnership for international money transfers.
Ripple invested $30 million in shares and warrants at $4.10 a share and has an option to buy $20 million in additional shares or warrants at the same minimum price, according to a statement on Bloomberg. MoneyGram will use Ripple’s xRapid product as part of its cross-border payment process in a partnership that has an initial term of two years. The stock surged as much as 148% to $3.60. Larger rival Western Union Co. gained 2.2% post-market.
MoneyGram’s share price more than doubled on Tuesday on the news. Ripple claims that XRP is the most efficient digital asset for payments with transaction fees at just fractions of a penny, compared to Bitcoin fees of about $30 per transaction. The firm also boasts average transaction times for XRP of two to three seconds.
MoneyGram began working with Ripple early last year on a pilot project. The Dallas-based company had seen its shares fall nearly 70% since a third-quarter revenue miss in November.
