RippleNet onboards UK-based Paydek to expand in Africa, Latin America

Although Ripple is fighting regulators in the United States, its reach around the world has continued to grow. The blockchain firm is in the news today after RippleNet onboarded United Kingdom-based payments company Paydek. This was first announced by Ripple’s Head of European Development, Sendi Young. This deal will help the payment company bring real-time payments to Latin America and Africa.

The former Mastercard executive, in a blog post, noted that Paydek initially leveraged RippleNet to connect with Africa since it was recognized as a growing hub for on-demand work. Since then, the company has also expanded into Latin America, a continent where RippleNet already has some presence, in partnership with Localpayment.

However, paying freelancers and contractors working remotely has been a rising problem, especially after COVID-19. With the industry valued at $455 billion, the combination of these two technologies can help resolve payment processing issues.

Paydek will be able to leverage RippleNet customers in the region and offer opportunities to create additional payment rails in the new regions. According to Terry Hopkinson, Managing Director at Paydek,

“With the addition of Localpayment’s expertise and support, Paydek is better positioned to offer an enhanced service to our clientele with local bank transfers into the Latin America market, where we are seeing significant growth for our customers.”

This will also provide Ripple a push in Africa and Latin America to drive digital remittances. As the gig economy witnesses a boom, the need for faster, secure, and reliable payment processors is higher than ever and it is going to increase in the coming years.

With Ripple positioning itself to expand its reach in these economies, it is also integrating itself with the wider crypto-community beyond just XRP.