By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 15th, 2024
MoneyGram has unveiled its strategic partnership with UAE-based Lulu Exchange in a move that will enable it to gain ground in the Oman and Asian-Pacific markets.
Ripple‘s partner MoneyGram, a leading payment provider, has continued to position itself among the leaders in cross-border crypto payments. After its major deal with Ripple for On-Demand Liquidity in 2019 worth $50 million, the company has now announced a new collaboration with Lulu Exchange.
The exchange ranks among the most prominent crypto and non-banking finance providers in the United Arab Emirates region. Lulu has its headquarters in Abu Dhabi and operates more than 180 active branches.
The new partnership aims to help Lulu’s mission to “digitize its money transfer business.” Additionally, the two parties will operate close together to create enhanced “consumer-centric capabilities.” The new development will support payments in both the Asian-Pacific and the Oman regions.
In the new Lulu-MoneyGram deal, Lulu Money, which is a subsidiary of the exchange, will link MoneyGram APIs soon.
MoneyGram Lulu Integration
The step is a significant move for the exchange will more than 200 branches globally. Moreover, it announced that its customer base is more than 5 million. The exchange also supports at least one million transactions yearly.
In the case of MoneyGram, the move is strategic. Through the partnership, the company will grow its operations into Oman and the Asia Pacific regions. The chair of Lulu Group, Adeeb Ahmed, commented on this development:
“This partnership will revolutionize how the region manages its high volume of remittances, launching unique services into the market, changing the way people approach digital transactions and remittances.”
On the other hand, Alexander Holmes of MoneyGram acknowledged that Lulu Money had made a considerable push to digitize its money transfer business via the partnership. He added:
“MoneyGram looks forward to working with them to create innovative products and services that extend our digital reach and bring financial inclusion to customers throughout the Asia-Pacific market.”
Currently, MoneyGram uses On-Demand Liquidity in its daily operations. This operation method allows seamless fund transfer between Mexico, the U.S., and the Philippines in conjunction with several exchanges.
But, considering the inclination of Ripple, their main aim is to develop capacity and ensure that they expand their presence. Furthermore, MoneyGram wants to support more corridors. In that context, with the Asia Pacific being a key focus in the medium to long term strategies.
Brad Garlinghouse May Interact with President Trump and ECB Chair at Davos
There are unconfirmed talks speculated that Ripple Inc.’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse would hold two high profile meetings with Donald Trump and ECB Chair, Christine Lagarde, at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
With the conference scheduled to end on January 24, world leaders will converge to debate on a plethora of topics. The ECB chair previously made known her approval of cryptos. She did that during her tenure as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
If Europe and the ECB adopt cryptos through the development and rollouts of CBDCs, the region will be ahead of the adoption curve.