Ripple announces new expansion plans - soon to be 400 million new users?

At its annual conference in Dubai, Ripple announced new product enhancements, licensing and, most importantly, a partnership with Onafriq. The company's blockchain payment system opens up new payment routes in different regions.

Onafriq is a fintech heavyweight that operates mainly in Africa and manages more than 400 million mobile wallets. The huge number of users is mainly due to the high use of wire transfers in Africa, as many people there do not have bank accounts.

Ripple thus continues its strategy of penetrating regions that do not have a well-developed banking infrastructure. At the same time, migrant workers working in the Gulf States or Britain, for example, have the option of using Ripple technology to transfer money to their home countries. Given the sometimes atrocious fees charged by competitors such as Western Union or Money Gram, this is a very attractive market.

Onafriq will use Ripple Payments' blockchain technology in collaboration with three partner companies. Zazi Transfer will offer remittance services to Australia, PayAngel will serve the United Kingdom and Pyypl will support GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) member states Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Ripple's cryptocurrency XRP currently seems to be benefiting greatly from all the good news. XRP is up more than 15 percent on a weekly basis. Ripple received approval just this week from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). The token can now be traded at the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) and embedded in financial services.