The XRP price could demonstrate considerable strength in the near term as Ripple strides to strengthen its presence in Europe despite the current bitter crypto winter. The San Francisco-based distributed ledger startup has introduced its crypto on-demand liquidity (ODL) service in France and Sweden, it announced Tuesday.

Ripple Targets Sweden And France With New XRP Payments Partners

Ripple has signed its first ODL customers in France and Sweden.

Ripple has inked a deal with Paris-headquartered company Lemonway, which provides payments for online marketplaces. Lemonway will be utilizing Ripple-connected ODL to facilitate real-time transactions. The ODL solution uses XRP to accelerate the transfer and exchange of fiat currencies between countries.

The collaboration comes when France has positioned itself as a growing crypto and blockchain technology hub. The deal enables Lemonway to eliminate the need to pre-fund accounts overseas, thus allowing it to use previously pre-funded capital to boost the company’s business in France.

Swedish remittance firm Xbaht, focused on money transfers between Sweden and Thailand, has added Ripple’s ODL to its ecosystem. Xbaht will be able to offer instant and low-cost remittances using the on-demand liquidity product that is also supported by Singapore-based cross-border payments hub Tranglo.

Ripple’s managing director for U.K. and Europe, Sendi Young, noted that these new tie-ups would help the company to continue creating real use cases based on blockchain and crypto.

“Since our inception ten years ago, Ripple has focused on using blockchain and crypto to build real use cases. This is why we have become the partner of choice for enterprises such as Lemonway and Xbaht looking to tap into global crypto liquidity to eliminate the traditional problems associated with cross-border payments such as lack of speed, unreliability, and excessive cost.” 

While most crypto-focused companies are struggling to keep their heads above water this year, Ripple’s ODL has continued to experience exceptional growth globally. Ripple has enlisted over 300 banks and financial institutions for its RippleNet network of partners. According to the company, RippleNet’s payment volume now surpasses $15 billion per annum. In Q2 this year, ODL rose nine times year-on-year thanks to numerous partnerships that helped rev up demand.

While Xbaht and Lemonway will help Ripple expand its business in two major European countries, XRP, hovering at around $0.4908 at press time, could soon benefit from it.