Ripple Leverages DFSA Licence to Onboard Zand Bank and Mamo for Instant UAE Payments

Ripple has officially launched its cross-border blockchain payments platform in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), deepening its presence in a region that’s positioning itself as a global digital asset hub.

The rollout brings Ripple Payments to the UAE through partnerships with Zand Bank, the country’s first all-digital bank, and fintech platform Mamo. 

Our partnership with Ripple is a big step forward. It allows us to offer faster, more reliable cross-border payments for both businesses and consumers, helping companies across the UAE scale with confidence.

Imad Gharazeddine, CEO and co-founder of Mamo

Related: MapleStory N Launches with Record-Breaking NFT Mint and Soaring NXPC Token

Both firms will use Ripple’s infrastructure to combine fiat, stablecoins, and cryptocurrency into a unified settlement system, this way facilitating international payments.

License Allows Ripple to Provide Services in One of The World’s Largest Cross-Border Payments Hubs

Ripple received regulatory approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority in March, granting it permission to offer crypto-enabled payment services in the region. The license allows Ripple to provide alternatives to legacy systems that have long struggled with delays, fees, and opaque processes.

Reece Merrick, Ripple’s managing director for the Middle East and Africa, said the UAE is “one of the world’s largest cross-border payments hubs”.

Acquiring this license enables Ripple to better serve the demand for solutions to the inefficiencies of traditional cross-border payments.

Reece Merrick, Ripple’s managing director for the Middle East and Africa

Moreover, this announcement comes as Ripple makes strides internationally. As Crypto News Australia reported, the firm is expanding its push into Colombia through a program called Ripple Impact, a system that tracks each agricultural product, from planting to harvest, to make that information more accessible to buyers.

Related:  Court Blocks Ripple-SEC Deal on Technicality; What About XRP’s Status?

The UAE seems to be a country with broad crypto ambitions. Dubai, for example, recently started a tokenisation sandbox for securities (though it excluded cryptocurrencies and stablecoins… for some reason.) 

Similarly, in Abu Dhabi, more Web3 and gaming projects have launched, starting with the Beam Foundation, which kickstarted a venture with a capital pool of over US$150M (AU$235M).