With 2019 securely in the history books, one of the largest providers of international money transfers and Ripple’s staunchest ally, MoneyGram, is particularly grateful for the holiday season. A recent report revealed that the money transmission giant saw a 70 percent increase in transaction volume in the period between December 1 and December 25, compared to the year before. Outside of the United States, the firm registered a 120 percent increase in online transaction volume over the same period.
In the month of December, all of MoneyGram’s online markets experienced double-digit growth in transaction volume. The report also noted that 80 percent of all the online transactions on MoneyGram were conducted via mobile phones.
MoneyGram said that owing to the ever-changing consumer behavior and the over 3 billion smartphone users, it is focusing on product diversification which includes investment in its digital market and major international markets.
MoneyGram CEO Alexander Holmes noted that the company’s present mission is mobilizing the movement of money. Holmes further explained:
“The success of our mobile app throughout the year, and especially during the holiday season, demonstrates the value consumers place not only on our user experience, but also on our global distribution network.”
MoneyGram’s re-modeled app has now seen more than 1.6 million downloads, marking a gradual uptrend since its inception in 2018. Additionally, the company has undertaken various enhancement programs in the past year like the launch of Visa Direct and the expansion of its offering to more countries to allow users in more than 60 markets to make seamless transactions.
Ripple teamed up with MoneyGram in June 2019 with Ripple investing $50 million while MoneyGram agreed to use Ripple’s cross-border payments solution, the On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) product. After completing the $50 million equity investment, Ripple now owns almost 10 percent of MoneyGram’s common stock.
During an interview with CNN’s Julia Chatterley in mid-December, Holmes revealed that since going live with Ripple in July, the company had processed transactions worth more than $100 million, thanks to Ripple’s ODL.
