Ripple (XRP) Labs Inc. on Friday announced it has secured its first European banking client, marking a significant expansion for its institutional payments infrastructure.
AMINA Bank AG, a Switzerland-based digital asset bank regulated by Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA, will integrate Ripple Payments to enable near real-time cross-border settlements for its clients.
The partnership, announced positions Ripple as a key infrastructure provider in Europe's digital asset banking sector.
What Happened
AMINA becomes the first European bank to deploy Ripple's licensed end-to-end payments solution.
The integration allows AMINA's clients to settle cross-border transactions in minutes rather than days, bypassing traditional correspondent banking networks.
The bank will process payments using both fiat currencies and stablecoins, including Ripple's RLUSD token.
AMINA already supports RLUSD custody and trading services, having become the first bank globally to offer the stablecoin earlier this year.
The Swiss bank operates under multiple regulatory frameworks, including a MiCA license obtained through its Austrian subsidiary AMINA (Austria) AG in October 2025.
Ripple claims its payments network now covers more than 90% of global foreign exchange markets by volume, processing over $95 billion in transactions.
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Why It Matters
The partnership demonstrates growing institutional confidence in blockchain-based payment infrastructure as Europe's MiCA regulatory framework creates clearer compliance pathways.
Traditional correspondent banking networks remain slow and expensive for cross-border transfers, particularly those involving digital assets.
AMINA's crypto-native clients require infrastructure that can handle both fiat and stablecoin transactions simultaneously - a capability legacy systems cannot provide.
The European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation became fully applicable on December 30, 2024, establishing uniform licensing requirements for crypto service providers across all 27 member states.
Ripple's positioning in multiple MiCA-compliant jurisdictions - including Switzerland, Austria, and potentially others - could accelerate adoption among European financial institutions seeking compliant blockchain settlement options.
If additional European banks follow AMINA's lead, Ripple Payments could see accelerated network effects, particularly in corridors where high-cost or slow settlement remains a persistent challenge for cross-border commerce.
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