Blockchain payment infrastructure company Ripple is working to obtain a virtual asset services provider (VASP) licence from the Central Bank of the Republic of Ireland to bolster its presence in Europe.

Ripple No Longer Generates Enough Revenue in the U.S.

In a recent interview with CNBC, the company’s General Counsel, Stuart Alderoty, said Ripple no longer generates most of its revenue from the United States due to its ongoing legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Hence, the firm is looking to expand across Europe, particularly Ireland.

“Essentially, its customers and its revenue are all driven outside of the U.S., even though we still have a lot of employees inside of the U.S.,” said Alderoty.

The general counsel also disclosed that two of the company’s executives are already in Ireland working to secure the deal with the Irish central bank to enable Ripple to offer its business solutions to customers in the region.

Ripple Plans to File for E-Money License in Ireland

Despite the current market downturn, the blockchain company also plans to file for an Electronics Money (E-Money) licence in Ireland after it successfully acquires the VASP authorisation.

With an E-Money licence, Ripple will be able to issue electronic money, provide electronic money payment services and serve as a third-party infrastructure to enable cross-border payments.

Ireland has already awarded some crypto-focused firms such licences in the past, including crypto exchanges Gemini and Coinbase, payment firm Square, and social media giant Meta.

Ripple’s Expansion Outside the U.S.

Meanwhile, Ripple’s plan to secure operational licences in Ireland is not its first entrance to Europe.

Last month, the company announced that it had secured two partnerships with Lemonway and Xbaht to provide payment solutions to customers in France and Sweden, respectively.

Through these partnerships, Lemonway will add Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) technology, designed to offer customers cheaper and faster payments across the border, to its treasury payments processes.

Xbaht, on the other hand, will use the technology solution to process payments between Sweden and Thailand at cheap costs.

Aside from Europe, Ripple is also expanding across other regions worldwide. In June, the company partnered with FOMO Pay, a payment solutions provider based in Singapore, to utilise its ODL solutions to process customers’ payment requests.

（By William A. Frederick ）