Finablr and Alipay Partner to Strengthen Financial Solutions on Ant Blockchain
Finablr, a listed UK entity and Ripple partner, is teaming up with Alipay to explore interoperable payments between users of the two platforms. The partnership will greatly improve Alipay’s reach given Finablr’s network of nearly 170 countries. Ledger Insights reports that the interoperability between the two platforms will be enabled by Ant Financial’s blockchain, November 27, 2019.
Collaborating For Customer Experience
Alipay has been using a blockchain to coordinate interoperability between its various payment wallets for over a year. A blockchain that acts as the base layer for a remittance service allows AlipayHK and GCash users to send money to and fro.
By partnering with Finablr, Alipay will gain access to a vast network of countries and users, while Finablr will be able to leverage the technological prowess Alipay has built.
Remittances to China, India, and the Philippines are the most prominent as these countries have a diverse diaspora in every corner of the world. An interoperable payment ledger would improve foreign resident’s ability to repatriate their income back home. Moreover, this serves as a more legitimate alternative to stablecoins and cryptocurrency for remittances, but it cannot compete with the former for escaping the stringent capital controls of autocratic countries like China.
Cross border remittance using a blockchain has supremely taken off in 2019 as more companies understand the unique simplicities of distributed accounting.
Competition Ramping Up
As more FinTech startups and established entities set up their own distributed accounting systems for cross border remittance, there is a steep incline in competition within this niche.
Regulators are undoubtedly going to be looking at this fragmented market very closely, but most companies seem to be operating within the bounds of certain regulations by not integrating a native token or cryptocurrency in the product mix.
Nevertheless, payments are set to become much, much cheaper once companies start to truly roll out these products for the masses. At the moment, most of these systems are prototypes in their initial phases and will require a lot more testing before launch.
Finablr moving away from their reliance on Ripple is another aspect of competition within FinTech platforms vying for market share. While this may be at the dismay if Ripple enthusiasts, it shows market confidence in blockchains for remittance.
