Ripple Integrates RLUSD with OpenPayd for Seamless Cross-Border Payments

Ripple’s latest move to integrate its RLUSD stablecoin with OpenPayd’s banking-as-a-service stack marks a significant step in its quest to make cryptocurrency more accessible and seamless for enterprise use. This integration allows corporates to mint, burn, and settle RLUSD on demand, tap into real-time payouts in euros and sterling, and assign virtual IBANs to individual customers or treasury sub-accounts through a single API. This unified money-movement layer merges fiat liquidity and on-chain settlement, making RLUSD a compliant digital dollar that behaves like native code inside every payout flow.

This development is particularly appealing to multinational payroll providers, neobanks, and Web3 marketplaces, which often face challenges with slow correspondent-bank hops when moving dollars into Europe or the U.K. The embedded IBANs and instant SEPA/Faster Payments rails mean that a London-based platform can hold client funds in RLUSD, pay a supplier in Madrid within seconds, and watch both sides reconcile automatically. This seamless integration reduces friction and enhances the efficiency of cross-border payments.

Ripple’s strategic move is not just about infrastructure; it also aims to gain regulatory credibility. The company filed for a U.S. national bank charter and a Federal Reserve master account, which would allow it to custody RLUSD reserves at the Fed. This move mirrors Circle’s model for USDC and would enable Ripple to clear domestic wires without an intermediary bank. Holding collateral inside the Federal Reserve System neutralizes counterparty risk and bolsters corporate treasurers’ confidence, differentiating RLUSD from private-bank-sponsored rivals.

Regulatory momentum is also on Ripple’s side. The U.S. Senate’s passage of the GENIUS Act in May laid out disclosure and audit obligations for fiat-backed stablecoins, while Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority granted RLUSD full approval in June. These developments signal that regulators are increasingly willing to bless dollar tokens that keep cash and short-term Treasuries ring-fenced from operating capital, further enhancing RLUSD’s credibility.

RLUSD’s market value has grown to roughly $470 million since its October 2024 launch, placing it among the top ten fiat-backed tokens. The OpenPayd integration aims to grow this footprint by removing onboarding hurdles for midsize enterprises that lack in-house blockchain teams. OpenPayd’s client roster, which includes European branches of Latin American neobanks, sports-betting operators, and U.K. payroll providers, adds immediate distribution. Each merchant activated on the new API can toggle between fiat and RLUSD in seconds, effectively multiplying stablecoin velocity without touching a crypto exchange.

The Ripple-OpenPayd tie-up is part of a broader move toward “invisible” finance, where business users never see blockchain jargon yet reap the benefits of instant settlement and programmability. From an ecosystem standpoint, the more RLUSD flows through automated accounts-receivable dashboards or payroll engines, the stickier it becomes. Treasurers hold balances for operational reasons, developers build around predictable APIs, and liquidity providers quote tighter spreads. This integration makes RLUSD a more attractive option for businesses looking to streamline their payment processes.

Ripple’s bank-charter gambit is seen as a bid to leapfrog both PayPal USD and USDC on trust, as direct Fed custody would make RLUSD the only major stablecoin with government-level backing for its reserves. This narrative could matter to listed companies bound by stricter counterparty-risk guidelines, further enhancing RLUSD’s appeal. By welding OpenPayd’s fiat plumbing to RLUSD and pursuing a bank charter that could place reserves on the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, Ripple is betting that compliance plus convenience will trump sheer market capitalization. This strategic move positions RLUSD as a leading player in the stablecoin field, poised to embed dollars where businesses already live, rather than waiting for firms to open crypto wallets.