Ripple has partnered with DriveWealth to introduce RLUSD settlement and cross-border payments across a brokerage network serving more than 100 global partners, with European settlement integration preceding a planned U.S. expansion.
Summary
- DriveWealth will use RLUSD on the XRP Ledger for settlement, starting in Europe.
- Ripple Payments will support incoming cross-border transfers from the brokerage platform’s international partners.
- The agreement includes European digital asset custody and exploratory equity financing work through Ripple Prime.
- DriveWealth plans to extend stablecoin settlement to the United States after its European integration.
Ripple announced the agreement on Oct. 14, describing a package of settlement, payments and custody services for DriveWealth’s investing infrastructure. Under the arrangement, the brokerage technology provider will use Ripple’s dollar-backed RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger, together with tools for minting and burning the token.
For clients funding collateral accounts, the announcement describes stablecoin deposits that can convert into cash in near real time, reducing the need to wait for an international bank wire. Through Ripple Payments, DriveWealth also plans to accept cross-border funds from its partners, connecting incoming transfers with the infrastructure used to support investing accounts.
RLUSD settlement will begin in Europe before U.S. expansion
According to the companies’ release, European operations will be the starting point for stablecoin settlement, followed by a planned extension to the United States. The announcement identifies RLUSD on XRPL as the settlement asset and includes mint-and-burn functions within the integration.
Within DriveWealth’s existing business, the release says fintech firms, digital wallets and financial institutions use its brokerage infrastructure to offer access to U.S. markets. The platform serves more than 100 partners globally, placing the proposed stablecoin services inside an established network of investing providers.
As the companies explained, U.S. equities settle one business day after trading, while cross-border dollar transfers can take longer. In their assessment, the difference can tie up capital and increase funding needs for financial firms handling international investment flows.
For international clients, the release describes funding that can move beyond bank transfer windows and cutoff times. DriveWealth CEO Naureen Hassan said the company already offers 24/5 trading and wants account funding to operate on a schedule that supports clients using that service.
With the integration, Hassan said customers’ capital could keep working “instead of sitting idle overnight or over a weekend.” The announcement also describes plans to connect treasury and custody functions, allowing clients to view dollar, stablecoin and cryptocurrency balances in real time and move between them.
Ripple Mint provides tools for institutional RLUSD operations
The settlement agreement includes functions Ripple has previously developed for institutions managing RLUSD. In July, crypto.news covered the company’s Ripple Mint launch, which gave approved customers tools to issue, redeem, transfer, and monitor the stablecoin across supported networks.
According to that July 24 report, the platform includes a web console, software interfaces and transaction alerts. Existing institutional customers can check balances and follow transfers from the receipt of fiat money through settlement on a blockchain, with shared reference numbers connecting the stages.
For exchanges, market makers and fintech providers, Ripple said the service could connect with their existing systems and automate repeated stablecoin operations. The July report also described an undisclosed investment in Notabene, with plans to add RLUSD to its business payments platform.
As Notabene described its services, payment authorization includes identity checks and counterparty information before funds move. The company said its network connected more than 2,300 institutions across over 100 jurisdictions.
European custody adds another institutional role for RLUSD
Alongside settlement and payments, DriveWealth will work with Ripple on digital asset custody in Europe, according to the partnership announcement. The companies plan to extend custody support to additional markets over time.
Explaining how the agreement developed, Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins, said:
“DriveWealth came to Ripple with a specific challenge around cross-border settlement, but it quickly became clear there was an opportunity to do much more together.”
In a separate Oct. 12 development, Standard Chartered launched RLUSD custody on the XRP Ledger through its Dubai International Financial Centre branch. According to the bank’s announcement, eligible institutional clients can hold the stablecoin through that operation, which the Dubai Financial Services Authority regulates.
Under a separate proposed arrangement, the bank is working with Ripple and LMAX Group to let clients use RLUSD as trading collateral while keeping the tokens in custody. Standard Chartered said implementation remained dependent on testing, final legal documents, internal approvals, and applicable regulatory requirements.
As the Oct. 12 report noted, Ripple had agreed in January to provide LMAX with $150 million in financing. LMAX’s announcement described plans to use RLUSD for collateral, margin funding and settlement across institutional trading products.
Ripple Prime equity financing remains under exploration
Beyond account funding and custody, the DriveWealth release says the companies are exploring equity financing through Ripple Prime’s Delta One business. The announcement presents that work as exploratory, while describing the settlement and payments components as integrations.
On Aug. 27, Ripple Prime launched equity derivatives for institutional customers, including total return swaps tied to U.S.-listed equities, indexes and digital assets. According to the launch report, hedge funds and asset managers can obtain exposure to an asset’s performance without owning it directly.
Through that service, Ripple Prime said clients could use one counterparty and cross-margin-supported positions across asset classes. Ripple reported more than $1 billion in regulatory net capital at the brokerage, which also provides clearing and financing services.
On Oct. 13, Privy announced XRPL wallet tools through a separate partnership with Ripple. According to the Stripe-owned wallet provider, developers will be able to create wallets, manage them through software, and sign transactions involving XRP, RLUSD, and other assets on the ledger.
For consumer applications, Privy said its embedded wallets could support stablecoin payments without requiring users to manage their own cryptographic keys. Its announcement also identified server-side wallets for businesses developing AI agents that make payments through systems such as x402.
