Ripple expands stablecoin payments stack for banks, fintechs

Ripple just dropped a major upgrade to its payments platform — and it's coming for the legacy banking system. The fintech giant is expanding Ripple Payments with custody, treasury automation, and settlement tools, targeting banks and fintechs in over 60 markets. Translation: they're building a full-stack stablecoin workflow to speed up cross-border transactions and reduce the need for pre-funded accounts overseas.

The platform now supports collection, custody, conversion, and payout of stablecoins, positioning Ripple to compete directly with traditional payment providers. This move aims to cut reliance on slow correspondent banking networks that tie up capital. Ripple Payments has already processed over $100 billion in transaction volume, with partners like Switzerland's AMINA Bank, Brazil's Banco Genial, Malaysia's ECIB, and Philippines-based AltPayNet.

The expansion builds on Ripple's recent acquisitions: custody/treasury automation company Palisade and Rail (bought for $200 million last August), which enables fiat/stablecoin exchange. Ripple's valuation sits at $17.7 billion according to pre-IPO platform Forge Global.

This push comes as Ripple grows its stablecoin services and integrates its dollar-pegged token RLUSD deeper into the ecosystem. RLUSD now has a circulating supply of about $1.5 billion — small but growing in the global stablecoin market.

Regulatory momentum is following this growth. In December, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved national trust bank charters for Ripple's planned Ripple National Trust Bank, along with Circle, BitGo, Paxos, and Fidelity Digital Assets. If finalized, these charters would let Ripple manage assets and stablecoin reserves under federal oversight (though not deposit-taking or lending like traditional banks).

The timing coincides with Washington DC discussions around US crypto market structure legislation. Ripple's chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty attended a White House meeting in February with other crypto/banking reps to discuss stablecoin provisions — showing Ripple's active role in shaping the regulatory landscape.