Visa to buy British payments firm(Earthport) for $250M

[xrpmommy]

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3419309-visa-buy-british-payments-firm-250m

 

[mistatee2000]

That is good news for Earthport as they had been struggling financially, burning through their reserves as they were not generating enough income - their share price is up 248% this morning.

Had they gone to the wall, then it would have taken out a key partner for Ripple. This acquisition by Visa may open up new opportunities for Ripple with them 

[Nihilist]

http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/AN_1545899408646388600/top-news-visa-to-acquire-earthport-for-gbp198-million-.aspx

 

 

Edited December 27, 2018 by Nihilist

[Guest]

I'm not familiar enough with the relationships of all parties involved. I am aware Ripple and Earthport were/are partners but I'm not sure how friendly Visa is towards Ripple. I've read plenty about Ripple and AmEx but I'm not sure about Visa. 

So my question is, is this (a) Visa attempting to slow Ripple's cross border tech adoption by buying up smaller businesses or (b) is this Visa buying smaller operations to bolster their own cross border tech position with Earthport's already implemented tech? 

I suspect it's (b). I suppose it depends on if Visa considers Ripple a friend or foe. 

Edited December 27, 2018 by Guest

[Guest]

These are the major shareholders who ultimately decide if the deal goes through. Anyone knowledgeable if these folks have publicly endorsed DLT for cross border payments? 

Oppenheimer Funds, Inc.

Wellington Management

Schroder Investment Management Ltd

International Finance Corporation

HU Investments L.L.C.

Miton Asset Management

M&G Investment Management

Ruffer LLP

[enrique11]

Hmmm..makes you wonder.  Visa using Ripple products or even Xrapid liquidity sourcing to power global payment including micropayments with low fees to have an even larger competitive edge.

Ripple is a potential friend to FIs that wants to do cross-border payments.  Yes, payments will eventually get much cheaper, but because of this magnitude of increase in global payment efficiency (speeds, payment and settlement atomicity, etc.), reach (illiquid corridors, micropayments, etc.),  and interoperability (ILP), Visa can take a much larger slice of the pie because blockchain tech and Ripple/XRP tech in particular, allows the pie to get much bigger in spite of lowering costs 10 times what they used to charge (Remember Ripple's shipping container analogy?), and still be very successful.