Ripple expands BNY custody deal, brings C2FO trade finance to XRP Ledger

BNY has broadened its partnership with Ripple to facilitate institutional custody for both XRP and RLUSD, concurrently advancing the concept of tokenized trade finance on the XRP Ledger through a distinct collaboration with the working-capital platform C2FO. An announcement made on October 27 detailed that BNY's Digital Asset Custody platform now accommodates the safeguarding and transfer of these digital assets for qualifying institutional clients. Furthermore, the entities are currently exploring additional services, encompassing stablecoin issuance, tokenized investment products, and trade finance, although these specific arrangements are still in a developmental stage.

On the same day, in a separate declaration, Ripple and C2FO detailed plans to utilize the XRP Ledger and RLUSD for settlement and financing connected to approved business invoices. This structure targets suppliers who currently endure payment delays of 30, 60, or 90 days, proposing a settlement mechanism capable of delivering funds within seconds. This enhanced accord builds upon BNY's pre-existing function as the primary reserve custodian for Ripple's dollar-backed RLUSD stablecoin and its custody relationship with Ripple Prime. Now, within the bank's institutional servicing infrastructure, its Digital Asset Custody platform supports the holding and transfer of RLUSD and XRP.

Ripple's President, Monica Long, stated that the corporation's focus is shifting away from merely issuing assets on blockchain networks toward utilizing them in actual financial transactions. Long elaborated, "We're moving past the initial issuance of assets onchain," indicating applications related to payments and collateral. As institutional demand grows, BNY plans to offer support for a greater variety of investment products and tokenized assets issued on the XRP Ledger. The two organizations are investigating a service that would permit BNY clients to mint and redeem RLUSD directly through the bank, although a timeline for this functionality has not been disclosed. Carolyn Weinberg, who serves as BNY's chief innovation and market transformation officer, commented that future financial infrastructure will link "payments, liquidity, collateral and securities" via both traditional systems and blockchain technology. The number of clients currently holding XRP or RLUSD through the bank's custody platform has not been revealed by the bank.

The separate agreement with C2FO concentrates on financing approved receivables through the company's newly introduced Instant Pay service. Suppliers will continue to utilize C2FO's established marketplace for accessing early payments, while capital providers participating in the arrangement will finance transactions settled using RLUSD on the XRP Ledger.

Ripple and C2FO are bringing trade finance onto the XRP Ledger to keep global commerce moving. Businesses often face waiting periods of several weeks following the provision of goods or services before receiving payment. Even when a supplier manages to secure early payment, transfers via conventional banking infrastructure can take multiple days to finalize. C2FO noted that its existing Early Pay programs have facilitated over $250 billion in working capital through accelerated invoice payments; this figure reflects past financing activity and is not representative of transactions already processed via XRPL. Ragui Selwanes, C2FO's president and chief operating officer for the Americas, explained that the collaboration aims to enhance the financial infrastructure backing its marketplace, describing the projected financing model as a method to boost capital access while maintaining existing client relationships.

Ripple and BNY are exploring the deployment of tokenized trade finance assets, including receivables, to make financing opportunities accessible to institutional investors. Their proposed work with C2FO involves digitally representing approved payment claims and examining how investors could fund those liabilities. Under the C2FO structure, the original payment due dates and invoice terms will remain unaltered. Participating financing providers will supply the initial funding, with RLUSD acting as the settlement asset, enabling suppliers to receive their funds without relying on standard bank transfers.

Markus Infanger, RippleX Senior Vice President, characterized working capital as an area where blockchain technology can enhance established financial services. He pointed to the XRP Ledger's swift settlement time and low transaction costs, alongside RLUSD's capacity to transfer dollar-denominated value. Neither party has disclosed the monetary value of financing committed to Instant Pay, nor have they confirmed a completed production transaction under the new arrangement. C2FO is currently collecting expressions of interest through a waitlist, while the broader BNY trade-finance initiative remains contingent upon client specifications.

These announcements follow several previous integrations involving Ripple's stablecoin. On October 12, Standard Chartered initiated institutional RLUSD custody through its Dubai International Financial Centre branch, with a collateral arrangement involving LMAX Group still under development. Just three days later, Ripple entered into a Cross River agreement to link RLUSD with banking services covering both domestic transfers and international payments. As previously reported by crypto.news, this integration is designed to connect stablecoin transactions with existing banking infrastructure via Cross River's operating system. BNY has independently supported tokenized investment products, continuing to act as custodian for assets held by Aviva Investors' Sterling Liquidity Fund, which recently introduced tokenized fund shares on the XRP Ledger. According to the C2FO release, Ripple's October 27 announcements place RLUSD's market capitalization at approximately $2.5 billion, with over $1 billion issued on XRPL. The companies stated that the ledger settles transactions in roughly three to five seconds, though the proposed invoice-financing service has not disclosed the volume of operational transactions.