Ripple and Arf Announce RLUSD Financing on XRP Ledger

Ripple and Arf announced a partnership on October 22 to provide RLUSD-backed settlement financing to licensed cross-border payment companies through the XRP Ledger, initially offering working capital before any integration with the network’s proposed native lending system. The arrangement is intended for payment firms that need funds available while international transfers settle. Arf, a settlement liquidity provider, will handle borrower assessments and working-capital decisions, while RLUSD, Ripple’s dollar-backed stablecoin, will provide the financing. XRP would be used for network transaction fees and applicable account reserves, not as the financing currency. Arf says its existing business handles approximately $10 billion in annual global settlement volume, with capital turning over four times monthly. That figure describes the company’s broader settlement activity, not the volume expected to use the new XRP Ledger arrangement. The announcement did not disclose a financing commitment, the amount of RLUSD allocated or an initial transaction-volume estimate. The reported repayment period for the initial financing differs: Arf’s announcement describes repayments typically...