Ripple announced the Ripple CBDC Platform today. It will be a frictionless end-to-end solution for central banks, governments, and financial institutions to issue their own central bank digital currency.
The interest in CBDCs has grown worldwide recently, as countries look for a way to increase financial inclusion and lower the cost and risk of domestic and cross-border payment processes. Ripple’s CBDC platform will use the same blockchain technology used on the XRP Ledger, per the company’s announcement.
The announcement reads:
“The enhanced platform will now allow its users to holistically manage and customize the entire life cycle of fiat-based central bank digital currency, transaction, and distribution.”
What the New Ripple CBDC Development Platform Offers
The new Ripple CBDC development platform offers the following, according to the announcement:
- Ledger technology – While still powered by the XRP Ledger, Ripple’s CBDC Platform is built on a new private ledger. It is underpinned by the XRPL’s core energy-efficient technology.
- Issuer – Enabling issuers (e.g. central banks or commercial banks) to manage the full life cycle of their fiat-based digital currency. From minting and distribution all the way to redemption and destruction, all in a highly secure manner taking advantage of the XRP Ledger’s built-in multi-signing capabilities.
- Operator –This allows financial institutions who are holding significant amounts of digital currency to manage and participate in inter-institutional settlement and distribution functions.
- End user wallets – Users of digital currencies such as corporate users will be able to hold their digital currencies securely. They’ll also be able to pay and receive payment for goods and services the same way other banking apps provide. This includes offline transactions and non-smartphone use cases.
The Ripple CBDC development platform allows central banks and governments to bring new levels of digitization to their financial services. It also allows these groups to promote access to millions of people around the world who do not have banks.
“As a trusted partner to several central banks, we believe this platform will help solve problems for many central banks and governments who are devising plans and developing a technology strategy for CBDC Implementations,” says James Wallis, VP of Central Bank Engagements & CBDCs.
“The innovative capabilities of the platform will help enable instant settlement of both domestic and cross-border payments, reduce risk, and improve the user experience of quickly sending and receiving digital currency on either side of a transaction.”