- Project from company founded by financial giants is delayed pending regulatory approval.
- Fnality proposes a peer-to-peer solution to offer tokenized currencies.
An article by news agency Reuters has revealed the delay of the “Utility Settlement Coin” pending regulatory approval. The project was initiated in 2019 by Fnality International, a company created by Banco de Santander, Barclays Plc and Credit Suisse Group AG, among other members, with the financing of £50 million. Former Ripple executive Cory Johnson was disappointed by the announcement.
Through his Twitter account Johnson emphasized the need for banks to introduce changes to the financial system. However, Johnson pointed out that such changes require the intervention of an intermediary to be implemented. In that sense, the mentioned financial institutions joined forces so that Fnality could offer the banks the mentioned solution, the
digital peer-to-peer arrangements that use cash, but with digital transactions with some of the world’s most important currencies, including the dollar, yuan, euro, among others. The company has set out to shape the platform to meet three characteristics.
First, the platform will offer multiple currencies so that there is “greater efficiency” in the management of fragmented liquidity. The platform will also be able to interoperate with other business platforms to support PvP (payment versus payment) or DvP (Delivery versus Payment) transactions. Finally, the funds in the platform are only a tokenization of funds with a physical backup in central banks to guarantee customers that their operations are secure and backed up with “real funds”.
According to the Reuters article, the Utility Settlement Coin was going to be commercially ready and approved this year. However, it now appears that it could receive a response from regulators in the first half of 2021, according to Rhomaios Ram, CEO of Fnality International.
Banks can’t make these changes to themselves by themselves. They need a third party to help. #XRP https://t.co/eJF5ji5nqH
— Cory Johnson (@CoryTV) September 9, 2020
Ripple and its potential to change the financial system
As Ripple’s former Head of Marketing Strategy, Johnson is familiar with the company’s potential to be an intermediary in cross-border transactions. As CNF has reported, the payment solutions company is working with regulators and policy makers in several governments to enact the adoption of digital payments. One of its most important partners is the founder of the company Fnality, Banco de Santander.
Recently, Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse caused speculation about possible cooperation with the Central Bank of Europe. The head of the financial institution, Christine Lagarde, published a tweet urging a “faster digital transition”. Garlinghouse echoed Lagarde’s demands causing the wave of speculation that followed. Ripple’s relationship with banking institutions around the world has been the subject of speculation in the past, although there is still no cooperation that could change the status quo of the current financial system.
