Ripple taps currency exchange provider Unicâmbio to bring cross-border payments to Portugal

Ripple is launching in Portugal with Unicâmbio, helping businesses in Portugal and Brazil make cross-border payments.

Ripple has partnered with Unicâmbio, a Portuguese currency exchange provider, to offer cross-border payments between Portugal and Brazil , the company said in a Feb. 10 blog announcement .

The partnership is the first time Ripple’s payment solution is available in Portugal, marking a new step in its European expansion. By collaborating with Unicâmbio, Ripple will allow corporate customers to send funds and settle payments, “reducing the time and friction to make moving value dramatically more efficient,” the announcement reads.

Ripple has been working in Brazil for some time, with customers like Travelex Bank and Mercado Bitcoin already using its solutions. Commenting on the latest product expansion, Cassie Craddock, managing director, UK Europe, at Ripple, says that more institutions like Unicâmbio are “leaning in to benefit from the inherent benefits of blockchain technology.”

“Portugal and Brazil share deep economic and cultural ties, with significant money flows between the two countries. By leveraging blockchain technology we’re transforming money movement between the two nations.”

Adriana Jerónimo, executive board member at Unicâmbio

With the latest partnership, Ripple says it now has “near-global coverage” with more than 90 payout markets representing “more than 90% coverage of the daily FX markets, processing more than $70 billion in volume.”

Despite the news, the price of XRP ( XRP ) has dropped by 0.33%, sitting at $2.44. Earlier, crypto.news reported that over 268,000 people in Portugal are now investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin ( BTC ) and Ethereum ( ETH ). Triple-A, a digital currency payment company behind the survey, pointed out that factors like greater public awareness, better infrastructure, and wider crypto acceptance have helped boost the country’s growing crypto investment scene.