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Late last year, Xi Jinping gave a speech declaring that blockchain technology presented an important breakthrough on several key areas within China and that the government intended to utilize the technology. Xi Jinping claimed that the development of distributed ledger technology provided a pivotal moment in which it allowed the Chinese state to reform and improve the inefficiencies found within the Chinese financial market. Stating that “It is necessary to explore the application of ‘blockchain’ in people’s daily life, and actively promote the application of blockchain technology in the fields of education, employment, pension, data-driven poverty alleviation, medical health, anti-counterfeiting, food safety, public welfare, social assistance, etc”. (1) Xi’s speech was in stark contrast to China’s previous posture on blockchain technology, specifically on cryptocurrencies such as BTC. But the public statement displayed that the Chinese government had finally come to an understanding on the potential blockchain technology can provide to the state. Unfortunately, most crypto evangelists took the speech to mean that the Chinese market was opening itself to the publicly traded cryptocurrencies found in crypto exchanges. An appreciation in the total crypto market capitalization only reinforced this notion that China was simply going to adopt the current, open source blockchains present. Weeks passed and China’s historical stance on cryptocurrencies was further fortified when several crypto exchanges halted or ceased services amid speculation of a crackdown within the country. (2) A contradicting development to Xi’s previous speech earlier in the year. However, there has been collaboration and developments by the state in the background that would corroborate Xi’s statements. Financial Access 2020 The foundation was laid at the 2015 World Bank Group–IMF Spring meetings. These meetings resulted in the establishment of the Universal Financial Access 2020 (UFA2020) initiative. The World Bank Group along with both private and public sector partners, committed themselves to promote and enable global financial inclusion in a multi-year program. With the intentions of enabling individuals who are not currently connected to the financial system, to have access to a transaction account to store money while also being able to send and receive payments. Setting a goal of enabling one billion unfinanced individuals to gain access by 2020. Their approach being the development of a platform that has a biometric identity database, virtual payment addressing, and digital payment interoperability. (3) At the time, there were over 30 partners that committed towards the UFA2020 initiative. Participants that now include the likes of Alipay, Du Xiaoman Financial (Baidu), BBVA Microfinance Foundation, CFPA Microfinance, Confederation of West African Financial Institutions (CIF), MasterCard, Pakistan Microfinance Network, State Bank of India, VISA, etc. (4) With each of these partners doing independent projects or collaborations to meet the UFA2020’s target. One such program that was spawned from the UFA2020 initiative, was the Financial Inclusion Global Initiative (FIGI). A three-year program formed by the collaboration between the World Bank Group, the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructure (CPMI), and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The program is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (5) Their collective goal is “to support and accelerate the implementation of country-led reform actions to meet national financial inclusion targets, and ultimately the global ‘Universal Financial Access 2020’ goal”. (5) This subgroup plans to utilize the “work of the CPMI-World Bank Group Task Force on the Payment Aspects of Financial Inclusion (PAFI), the BMGF’s Level One Project, and the ITU Focus Group – Digital Financial Services, to deliver implementation solutions, deep topical analyses and practical investigations, working toward the goal of Universal Financial Access by 2020”. (5) Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Level One Project is recognized by followers of Ripple due to the project’s development and intention of utilizing the Interledger Protocol to address interoperability between financial systems while helping lower the costs in developing inclusive payment platforms. Thru panels held at the FIGI symposiums, there is apparent dialogue and collaboration between the FIGI organization, the World Bank, and Ripple. (6) China The main purpose of the FIGI receiving grant money from the BMGF in 2017, was to accelerate financial inclusion in developing countries. With three countries being selected to be the focus of the initiative. Those countries being Mexico, Egypt, and China since they contain millions of unbanked individuals. (7) Ultimately, the development and progression of the initiative will be used as models for digital financial inclusion innovations around the globe. And regarding the selected countries, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) specifically requested support from the World Bank Group to aid in bridging the gap between the Chinese financial system and their citizens found in remote areas. (7) Interesting enough, the FIGI initiative aligned with other partnerships and projects in 2017. Partnerships that were composed of Ripple, Huawei, Mojaloop, etc. As some in the Ripple/XRP community might remember, officials from the PBOC visited the San Francisco Ripple offices in August 2017. (8) The community speculated on numerous possibilities on why Ripple was being visited by PBOC officials but there was no disclosed explanation of the meeting between Ripple and the PBOC. But looking at other announcements from 2017 chronologically, some perspective on the PBOC and Ripple meeting can be gained. First, the PBOC sought guidance and help by the World Bank Group to foster financial inclusion innovation within the country. The FIGI under the UFA2020 initiative, choose China to be one of the three countries focused on fostering innovation early 2017. In August 2017, the PBOC visited the Ripple offices in San Francisco. Two months later, BMGF and Ripple’s collaboration and development on Mojaloop was publicized. (9) Yet one aspect of the announcement on Mojaloop that was overlooked was that four mobile systems companies were brought to help develop an Open API for mobile money interoperability. Those companies being Ericsson, Telepin, Mahindra Comviva, and Huawei. (10) And with a document from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on “Digital Currency including Digital Fiat Currency”, we know that the Mojaloop API was designed by the four mobile companies that included Huawei. (11) Huawei and the BMGF have also been collaborating on promoting interoperability and financial inclusion since the previous year. Late 2016, Huawei announced partnership with the Gates Foundation on the Level One Project. (12) With the partnership focusing on developing “scalable, low-cost, interoperable and fraud resistant payment systems will be based on open Application Programming Interfaces (API’s) and help people in the world’s poorest regions improve their lives and build sustainable futures by connecting them with digitally based financial tools and services”. (12) Coincidentally occurring right when the Mojaloop API was being developed in the same Level One Project. Nonetheless, the Mojaloop API seems to be both an innovation and solution both Huawei and the BMGF sought to develop in their partnership. We know that the BMGF and Bill Gates himself, have been aware since 2016 ,of the potential revolution the Interledger Protocol can bring to the financial system1d. With Bill Gates even recognizing how Ripple’s technology can move money across countries efficiently and cheaply. (13) Although Ripple’s known involvement in China is thru LianLian Pay and some possible penetration thru third parties such as AirWallex, there appears to be a potential utilization of the Mojaloop API thru Huawei in FIGI’s project within China. This can potentially explain why Ripple expanded into China with the opening of offices in the country. (14) Outside FIGI Outside of FIGI’s scope in China, there are other developments with UFA2020 affiliates forming and investing in projects that could leverage the Interledger Protocol. A recent example involves a group of Ripple investors and partners raising capital for Currencycloud. Currencycloud is a UK startup that has developed remittance APIs that allows any financial business to integrate money transfer services thru Currencycloud’s platform. A duo of Ripple shareholders in SBI and Siam Commercial Bank participated in the Series E round for the UK startup. But interesting enough, VISA and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation also partook in the series round. (15) Two key members of the UFA2020 initiative. These investors intend to promote and utilize Currencycloud’s API for cross-border payments. While VISA has also entered a partnership with the UK startup. Thrugh the partnership, VISA plans to expand and improve their services by using Currencycloud’s platform. (16) Yet Currencycloud has another notable partnership with the Ripple associate, DWOLLA. DWOLLA is not only known for sharing a seat with Ripple on the US Faster Payments Council but more importantly, for their collaboration in developing the Mojaloop platform. (17) DWOLLA will be leveraging the UK startup’s platform to expand their network for coverage on 38 currencies in 180 countries. (16) And on a final note, Currenycloud has an impressive group of clients that includes The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (16) Furgther adding another affiliate to the assortment of UFA2020 and Ripple partners involved with Currencycloud. (16) Looking at announcements or projects through the perspective of promoting and expanding the Universal Financial Access 2020 initiative, one can conceivably see the purpose and structure of collaborations done by Ripple associates to possibly promote adoption of the Interledger Protocol. 1. https://medium.com/@mablejiang/xi-jinpings-speech-at-the-18th-collective-study-of-the-chinese-political-bureau-of-the-central-1219730677b2 2. https://cointelegraph.com/news/china-5-crypto-exchanges-halt-or-shut-services-amid-perceived-crackdown 3. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion/brief/achieving-universal-financial-access-by-2020 4. https://ufa.worldbank.org/en/partners 5. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion/brief/figi 6. https://twitter.com/DougMPearce/status/936176649963388928?s=20 7. https://www.devex.com/news/3-model-countries-selected-for-a-new-financial-inclusion-initiative-90778 8. https://twitter.com/Ripple/status/902201846592184320?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^902201846592184320&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2Fripple-talks-with-peoples-bank-of-china-key-to-chinese-blockchain-market 9. https://ripple.com/insights/news/ripple-the-gates-foundation-team-up-to-level-the-economic-playing-field-for-the-poor/ 10. https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2017/10/Bill-Melinda-Gates-Foundation-Releases-Open-Source-Software-to-Expand-Access-to-Financial-Services 11. https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/focusgroups/dfc/Documents/FGDFC-O-003.pdf 12. http://carrier.huawei.com/minisite/software/mobile-money/foundation.html 13. https://ripple.com/insights/why-bill-gates-believes-2016-will-be-the-year-of-financial-inclusion/ 14. https://www.asiacryptotoday.com/ripple-plan-expansion-to-shanghai-china 15. https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/26/currencycloud-nabs-80m-from-visa-world-bank-group-and-more-for-its-cross-border-payments-api/ 16. https://www.currencycloud.com/company/clients/ 17. https://modusbox.com/announcing-mojaloop-io-an-open-source-software-platform-for-financial-inclusion-to-uplift-the-worlds-poor/

https://trastra.com/ What is it? Trastra.com issues XRP VISA CARD for users to cash-out XRP in ATMs in 3 clicks and spend it in real life. How do I use it? 1-You need to open an account at https://trastra.com 2-Pass the KYC (Not more than 15 minutes) 3-Order the card and enjoy your Physical XRP VISA card. Having doubts? Lowest fees on XRP cash-outs in ATMs and free POS transactions, Thanks to the TRASTRA XRP VISA debit cards people can spend XRP like traditional money. Key features: BTC/ETH/XRP/LTC/BCH wallets - Send, receive and store digital currencies Exchange Crypto to EUR and vice versa - Convert your cryptocurrency to fiat instantly Payment card VISA - Spend cryptocurrency in real life and cash it out at any ATM worldwide Learn more about TRASTRA Website - https://trastra.com TRASTRA in AppStore - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/trastra-crypto-wallet-card/id1446427008 TRASTRA in GooglePlay - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/trastra-crypto-wallet-card/id1446427008 Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiCWo9pgp6g Get our Project at Trastra.com

https://xrpripplenews.com/2019/09/15/visa-to-settle-payments-through-xrp/

Hey Team, been a while since I posted and I just found this so I thought I would post it to see who was interested. The Block is very anti-Ripple and XRP so they will be loving this.... "Visa, Mastercard and PayPal are set to be backers of Facebook's cryptocurrency along with a number of other companies, including Uber. Each will invest approximately $10 million into a foundation that will govern the coin, the Journal said citing anonymous sources. That money will be used to create the backing for the coin, which will be pegged to a basket of fiat currencies." https://www.theblockcrypto.com/tiny/facebook-reportedly-brings-on-visa-mastercard-and-paypal-as-backers-of-its-cryptocurrency/

The Very Beginning Shift/Shift Payments Since 2014, Ripple has been experimenting on multiple projects developing a debit card that would allow owners to easily spend their digital currencies. It first began as a joint effort along side Shift Payments to create the "Shift Card". Which the project was focused on https://ripple.com/insights/a-debit-card-powered-by-ripple/ The prototype card was integrated with both Coinbase and Ripple accounts at one point with the partners wanting to integrate the card with loyalty point programs and regular bank accounts in the future. Ripple was planned to be used for the settlement protocol for payment between fiat currencies, digital currencies, mobile minutes, etc. And in further innovation, https://techcrunch.com/2014/08/12/shift-is-developing-a-debit-card-that-lets-you-spend-digital-currency-loyalty-points-and-regular-money/ It would later be released that Shift Payments, now Shift, was introducing a VISA backed Bitcoin debit card. Suggesting the probability Ripple had been introduced to VISA long ago.... https://techcrunch.com/2015/11/20/coinbase-partners-with-shift-payments-to-issue-bitcoin-debit-card/ Unfortunately nothing came from it and the test wallets they used for the pilots have become dormant for several years. (although the main wallet has 375k XRP just sitting there) https://bithomp.com/explorer/rKbtT6j1JGjFnwkUp2Na1W8XE5Z79VsMYi https://bithomp.com/explorer/rpfFnyaChjzB8RNfT6VDYioFWfjghYXnvb Shift appears to have moved on but a possible explanation as to why nothing arose from it might be how cryptocurrencies were not favorably perceived in 2014. However one of the co-founders of Shift, Meg Nakamura added that https://techcrunch.com/2014/08/12/shift-is-developing-a-debit-card-that-lets-you-spend-digital-currency-loyalty-points-and-regular-money/ Whether they ever use Ripple or not in the future is up for debate but one of Shift's co-founders was Gregg Kidd, the chief risk officer at Ripple during the time. Interesting enough both founded Hard + Yaka, a fund that makes early round investments in exchange space startups. Previous investments? Global ID, Gatehub, Ripple, Coinbase, Shift, Bitso (expect XRPL to run thru it), ShapeShift and to our next topic of conversation.....Marqeta. http://hardyaka.com/ Marqeta Marqeta is an open API payment card issuing platform that has been enabling businesses to process credit and debit card payments. Marqeta has been establishing itself as a big company that has attracted notable clients and investors to utilize it's technology. Facebook and Oink are example of clients while this past July, VISA made a strategic investment in the company and formed a partnership to drive further innovations in commercial and consumer payments globally. https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/26/visa-marqeta-25m/ http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170726005359/en/Visa-Marqeta-Form-Global-Partnership-Drive-New https://www.pymnts.com/news/partnerships-acquisitions/2017/visa-and-marqeta-partner-to-transform-global-card-issuance/ https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/16/powering-the-facebook-card-marqeta-raises-14m-from-greylock-israel-to-recreate-the-starbucks-loyalty-card-for-merchants/ Marqeta is compatible with the Discover, MasterCard, and VISA networks. https://www.marqeta.com/api/docs/VhypzxwAANwA_Vgx/cards The CEO of Marqeta, Jason Gardner, has been very vocal and supportive of blockchain technology and it's possible applications. adding, It was also revealed in January 2016 that Marqeta had been working with Ripple on a defunct debit card product that would allow users to spend cryptocurrencies at traditional points of sale. https://www.coindesk.com/marqeta-ceo-bitcoin-blockchain-tech/ With the test wallets to prove this collaboration, https://bithomp.com/explorer/rwEFnxs7GQsHXBG9ARZNYcmBkZc81zphMC https://bithomp.com/explorer/rwYx6Mp1n8yMbGN9K4MkHsSNvibK4MPjQF (being really active last year and even doing fiat exchanges between USD and JPY) Only time will tell where this collaboration will lead to but it's safe to say that Ripple has really positioned itself well in regards to VISA and Mastercard. And one other interesting development has been Marqeta's new partnership with Ali Pay. https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/71286/alipay-joins-with-marqeta-for-us-payments-play https://paymentweek.com/2017-10-27-alipay-marqeta-team-alipays-payment-processing-ambition/ http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171020005664/en/Alipay-Taps-Marqeta-Expedite-Payment-Acceptance-Retail One notable thing did occur (and is accelerating as we speak) this past March, Ripple introduced Payments Channels into the RCL/XRPL and ILP. Thus allowing the XRP Ledger to scale, https://ripple.com/insights/ripple-continues-to-bring-internet-of-value-to-life-new-features-increase-transaction-throughput-to-same-level-as-visa/ https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/ripple-claims-transaction-thoroughput-now/ The network has now scaled enough to sustain the amount of transactions the VISA network sustains. One last note, https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/31227/wirex-and-sbi-holdings-team-on-japan-cryptocurrency-payments-card AirWallex Ripple partners with ties to major credit card issuers don't end there. AirWallex is an international payments startup that is based in Australia that in October, it's partnership with Ripple became publicly disclosed. https://ripple.com/ripple_press/ripples-blockchain-network-now-100-strong/ This past May, AirWallex held a Series A Round in which it raised $13 million dollars in funds for the company. These investors included MasterCard, Gobi Ventures/Partners which is one of Alibaba's investment managers, and Tencent leading the investment round. Tencent's WeChat has roughly 980 million monthly users, with users sending about $1.2 trillion in mobile payments in 2016. Along with mobile payments in China, Tencent wants to expand WeChat Pay usage to other regions including South Africa, Philippines, and Malaysia. https://bankinnovation.net/2017/04/alipay-wechat-processed-3-trillion-in-2016/ http://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/22/17/wechat-pay-launches-in-philippines-with-asia-united-bank http://www.marketing-interactive.com/tencent-confirms-plans-to-launch-wechat-pay-in-malaysia/ http://blog.wechat.com/2015/11/25/south-africa-launches-wechat-wallet-the-first-country-officially-outside-china/ And there is one more region that AirWallex is targeting thru a formation of a partnership this past week, Europe. On December 1, AirWallex announced a partnership with Railsbank to enable AirWallex also became Railsbank's Airwallex’s VP of Europe Expansion, Michael Stachowiak speaking on the partnership shared, https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/71788/airwallex-joins-railsbank-platform https://www.pymnts.com/news/b2b-payments/2017/airwallex-railsbank-international-payments-partnership/ Along with it's partnership with AirWallex, the previous day Railsbank was one of eleven companies to be chosen by MasterCard to be included in it's Start Path program. With Railsbank being chosen for it's ability to give companies access to global banking networks thru APIs. https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/71779/latest-mastercard-start-path-program-includes-blockchain-digital-identity-and-healthcare-fintechs Want to know what happened on November 30? (same day of Railsbank and MasterCard's annoucement) The European Central Bank hosted a digital transformation conference that Ripple was invited to. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/conferences/shared/pdf/20171130_digital_transformation_conf/Conference_brochure_20171130.pdf A panel which consisted of Banca Sella, the Central Bank of Netherlands, PayPal, and Ripple was held to speak on the disruptive potential of fintech innovations for the retail payments ecosystem. Want to know what happened on December 1? (same day as AirWallex and Railsbank's partnership) Brad gave us a nice tweet The VISA and MasterCard connections are there and more subtle Alibaba and Tencent connections to Ripple are surfacing. There's a lot of money between Europe and China in e-retail............. EDIT https://mobile.twitter.com/bgarlinghouse/status/961250935115743232 EDIT 2 https://www.pymnts.com/digital-payments/2018/mastercard-uae-exchange-prepaid-cards-digital-payments/amp/?p=474082&__twitter_impression=true

Visa says service returning to normal http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44335804 visa fails

Hey everyone, I’m putting together a list of facts about why/how Ripple could take over global payments market for my conclusion in my essay. I want it to be as unbiased as possible and state the facts, and most of my sources have come from threads here and the official Ripple website, but some informative posts here are hard to put in layman's terms. Here’s a list of things I’m currently considering writing about, If anyone has any critique on my bullet points, or can add something I’m missing It would be much appreciated * Ripple confirmed to be able to handle 1500 tps, VISA usually handles about 2000-4000 tps * Ripple has been accumulating over a hundred bank/financial institution partnerships * Ripple is speedy and can clear transactions in 4 seconds. (Compare with average transaction time from McKinsey 3-5 days and how SWIFT Is now waking up to the competition) * Ripple uses consensus algorithm to confirm transactions, Works a lot better as a financial instrument(?) than Bitcoin * Incentives for banks to use since it will reduce cost (Swift GPI vs. Ripple price?) * xRapid can liquify trillions lying dormant if it becomes mainstream * Ripple doesn't need XRP to succeed, but since it works seamlessly with other RippleNet solutions, the incentives to start using it are there Thanks a lot for reading and I hope you have a great weekend TLDR; Writing about Ripple, please critique bullet points

This was delightful breakfast Source: https://oracletimes.com/xrp-ripple-surpasses-visa-transaction-speed/

I have got a brain wave. What if Ripple can replace VISA/MasterCard/Amex as the next payment gateway. And the 100+ partner banks can issue cards powered by the ripple net using the Xrapid to facilitate payments for point of sale. Online payments in the future. Banks and FI’s will only need to provide new debit cards and credit cards powered by Ripple and settle payments instantly on the ripple net which is not limited with borders or currency conversion limitations. With the added advantage of instant settlement. Is it possible ripple can eat into the existing infrastructure of visa/MasterCard. Also is it possible ripple might become the new gold standard. Technically this is all possible provided the banks can have enough faith on the ripple net when compared to the visa/MasterCard channels. What are your thoughts. And is ripple looking into doing this in the near future. Also payments thru ripple can also use Codius to convert transaction into smart installments considering approved limits on individual credit scores.

As Bitcoin soars, so do the complaints by Coinbase users. The day started off with news circulating social media platforms that Coinbase overcharged some of the cryptocurrency buyers up to 50 times the original price. https://viraldocks.com/visa-blame-cryptocurrency-overcharge-coinbase/

Not exactly an overwhelming amount of detail in the article (link below), but couldn’t help but wonder the implications as it pertains to Ripple and XRP. This has nothing to do with the use case of XRP to settle cross-border transactions, but what about functionality with ILP? Additional thoughts? I’m still processing as this news broke an hour ago and I just found out 3 minutes ago. http://news.abs-cbn.com/business/01/22/18/visa-unionbank-launch-blockchain-payment-system

A new report here in the Philippines surfaced earlier today regarding Visa's plan on utilizing Blockchain through our Unionbank branch: http://news.abs-cbn.com/business/01/22/18/visa-unionbank-launch-blockchain-payment-system Questions are up if xrp will be utilized here on the backend to facilitate blockchain transactions. Interledger perhaps? (If visa will utilize their own crypto, probably not.) Also coincides with Visa looking for "blockchain experts on Etherium and Ripple": https://usa.visa.com/careers/job-details.jobid.743999664785893.deptid.934140.html Also, Visa's press release of: "Visa B2B Connect, fund transfers can be completed in real time" Transaction fees will also “decrease significantly” It fits xrp utilization perfectly. Also: "Visa will offer the payment platform using 23 fiat currencies and 4 partner banks including Commerce Bank in the US, Shinhan Bank in South Korea, Sberbank in Russia and United Overseas Bank in Singapore." Any ideas @Tehol_Beddict, anyone?

Hello Everyone, This article has to be the most interesting (Speculative) Ripple (XRP) articles I have read. I had to join XRP chat and share it. https://keepingstock.net/opinion-ripples-price-with-visa-or-mastercard-integration-6e723f7936d5

Hi Guys sbi just announced that they starting a new credit card project with ripple. Sounds cool. But actually I don't understand how this works. Some guy here said that it is going to be visa card. So now I am asking my self - if its a visa card so what? whats ripples part of that? What does ripple provides to that? Its not a card which is to be used to pay with XRP or???

I feel that news is coming from stellar regarding a new major partnership is becoming imminent. I am tempted to put a majority of my investment in xlm for the short term. The new validators, past IBM partnerships with visa, and such a cheap price, I am very hopeful for the coming months. Thoughts?

Hello All, This is my first post here. Thank you all for contributing to a fantastic forum filled with invaluable information, insights and thoughtfulness. Short background: my life mainly consists of reading and for the past six months the main part of that reading material has consisted of blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies and macro-finance. I’ve drawn many conclusions, one of them is that Ripple is in a unique position with an opportunity to change the world, another is that I will definitely work for Ripple. I’ve already sent in my application for the post of Content Marketer, enclosing the below article where I’ve attempted to reduce a hard to grasp and complex issue to more digestible information without losing any of the key points. In- depth version : http://papers.netrogenic.com/sid/eco-friendly-money.pdf Lightweight version : www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-eco-friendly-our-money-alternative-sid-john-leopold Hope you enjoy reading it as much I’ve enjoyed all shared wisdom in this forum. Please get in touch here or on my LinkedIn with any feedback as I am always keen to improve and I respond well to positive criticism. Kind regards, Sid John Leopold

Browsing through the agenda of the comming days, all big payment players seem to be there (Apple, Alipay, Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, etc.) as also several supportive partners that passed on this forum before. I saw an interpretation on twitter connecting Stellar to Paypal because of this agenda, but that seems a too easy / pump conclusion as they are (actualy 2x) indeed together in a timeslot, but together with other participants in a paneldiscussion and presentation queue. But still, I can imagine that statements might influence the markets. Any thoughts? I don't see Rippe there.. but as too much expectations did not work out the last time, maybe this time the exact opposite ?? https://files.money2020.com/public/jAVEIl5/xOZcTGNvex.pdf?_ga=2.13394359.1460367270.1508609453-904291530.1498331769

Hi What is the best crypto (visa) debit card out there in terms of best value for money with fees, etc, ? I am looking at the Bitstamp debit card and it does look pricey wit their fees. I want to exchange my ripple for USD fiat. Deciding on whether to get a debit card or just use international transfer. Support from Bitstamp, Kraken, Gatehub are all poor and your lucky to hear back anytime soon. So I cannot wait all week or weeks for answers. How long does a international transfer usually take? Can't find this info on Bitstamp or Kraken. And if I got their debit card, I assume I would be able to transfer USD from their card to my existing bank card or bank account. After all, this is the reason why I would get their card in the first place. Thanks

Wasn't Bank of America working together with ripple? .... http://www.trustnodes.com/2017/07/29/bank-america-visa-looking-ethereum-developers-build-new-payment-systems

Its getting hot in here. A you can see with RCL's name change to XRP Ledger, We are entering the final phase. Think hard people, all we are waiting for is a fi, bank, or enterprise PARTNER OR CUSTOMER in a certain area to commence a trial of XRP transfer. Once they source it (purchase XRP), supply and demand, as well as sentiment will spike the price. Rinse, repeat with another partner, price spikes again. keep doing this until price is at very high levels to be able to accommodate huge transfers. As an example, India receives 69Bn a year in remittances from its workers living abroad (retail). At current prices It would take all of the crypto to accommodate these transfers. But one day when the price of one XRP is $____, XRP will be able to handle it. This is 1 country...Has your head exploded yet? Remwmber, our purchases are tiny in comparison to what the banks, etc, will be sourcing. Remember again, our crypro has a specific use case. it was always meant for them. We just get to tag along on the ride of our lives. all my opinion, invest at your own risk. Do your own due diligence. Dont invest what you cant afford to lose. I could be wrong. BUT I COULD BE VERY, VERY, RIGHT https://ripple.com/insights/ripple-continues-to-bring-internet-of-value-to-life-new-features-increase-transaction-throughput-to-same-level-as-visa/

So while watching this video.. Larsen talked about how they were planning on distributing the XRP pool that Ripple holds. While some is given to the owners and distributors...what got to me was they plan on selling shares of Ripple like VISA did when they first started....Which I wasn't much aware of before doing this: https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/our_business/history-of-visa.html Visa’s journey begins in 1958, the year that Bank of America launched the first consumer credit card program for middle-class consumers and small to medium-sized merchants in the U.S. It didn’t take long for the company to grow—the company expanded internationally in 1974, and introduced the debit card in 1975. In 2007, regional businesses around the world were merged to form Visa Inc and, in 2008, the company went public in one of the largest IPOs in history. In 2016, Visa completed the acquisition of Visa Europe. Today, Visa operates in more than 200 countries and territories with products and services available on any device – cards, laptops, tablets and mobile devices. We continue to evolve, but our focus remains the same—to be the best way to pay and be paid, for everyone, everywhere. 1970 - National BankAmericard incorporates in Delaware as National BankAmericard Inc., led by founder, visionary and CEO Dee Hock. 1973 - National BankAmericard launches the first electronic authorization system, followed by an electronic clearing and settlement system. 1976 - BankAmericard becomes Visa, a simple name that sounds the same in every language, identified by a blue and gold flag. 1979 - The first Visa Travelers Cheques are issued in four currencies. 1983 - Visa launches an automated teller machine (ATM) network, providing 24-hour “anytime, anywhere” cash around the world. 1986 - A new ad campaign herald’s Visa’s evolution from a travel and business tool to a card for everyday use. 1986 - Visa develops multiple-currency clearing and settlement in 21 currencies. 1988 - Visa sponsors its first Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, and the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, Alberta. (Coincidence? Olympics in Seoul coming soon..) 1996 - Visa’s first financial literacy program launches. It’s now in 20+ countries and has helped millions of people manage their money. 1997 - Visa’s total payments volume reaches US $1 trillion, a major milestone for the industry. 2006 - Visa’s total payments volume reaches US $4.4 trillion, surpassing the previous $1 trillion milestone set in 1997. A brief history of VISA that I picked up, and has anyone wondered how big they got? I didn't even know Bank of America is the main hand behind VISA, and how they distributed it through out other banks and the world, it's crazy the momentum it picked up...but just in recent years. In a way...Ripple wants to become that VISA of future payments. Bank of America distributed VISA and it's program to other companies just like what Ripple is trying to do with Banks Consortium and Institutions. So I feel like they are taking the right approach...but VISA had it's struggle before becoming the greatest IPO in history...Ripple has the chance to do the same. VISA was all owned by Bank of America who went through series of steps on to making VISA decentralized from it's banking sector...now acts as it's separate entity. Similar to what Ripple is trying to do...so all I'm trying to say is. There is hope and Ripple is taking the right approach to what can be the next VISA/MasterCard of Payments. Thanks.

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/war-cash-intensifies-visa-offers-restaurants-10-000-go-cashless-n782276 Interesting news for the further global push to go cashless... I'm sure this has been touched on quite a bit, but what would the likelihood be that someone like Visa actually ends up using Ripple solutions in conjunction with XRP to make their own business more competitive?

Could Ripple eventually cut Mastercard and Visa out of the consumer-merchant purchasing process (assume Joe bought a hat from Amazon using his credit card)? Currently, Mastercard and Visa facilitate payment, they dont extend credit (the bank does). If both the bank and the merchant are using the Ripple Network, why would they need Mastercard/Visa anymore? What am I missing? Thanks