Ahead of incoming UK crypto legislation in 2027, Ripple’s EMI licence confirms both the company’s and the country’s commitment to making the UK a competitive crypto market.
Ripple secured an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on January 9 to expand its crypto payment offerings across the UK.
Operating as Ripple Markets UK, the EMI licence enables the crypto company to offer its Ripple Payments platform to incumbent partners and businesses seeking to send cross-border digital asset payments.
Ripple has been operating in the UK since April 2016, with the company describing the country as “core” to its global strategy. Ripple opened its first London office in March 2016, which has since become its largest office outside of the US.
Before receiving its EMI licence, as well as becoming a registered cryptoasset company with the FCA, Ripple was able to operate in the UK through partnerships with the likes of the Bank of England. This was part of a cross-border accelerator program, working on proof of concepts for faster, more seamless cross-border payments.
Ripple has also been able to provide its blockchain infrastructure platform, RippleNet, to UK banks such as Santander UK and Standard Chartered to facilitate cross-border payments with its native underlying distributed ledger technology, XRP ledger.
The crypto company has also been registered with the FCA to comply with its anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing rules.
“The UK has a well-deserved reputation for high regulatory standards. The FCA’s rigorous approach to compliance mirrors Ripple’s commitment to adhering to regulations,” said Cassie Craddock, Managing Director of UK and Europe at Ripple.
“Securing approvals from the FCA is a pivotal moment for Ripple, enabling us to provide essential digital assets infrastructure to UK businesses. We have seen in other jurisdictions how regulatory clarity drives adoption, and the UK is poised to take advantage. The opportunity presented by digital assets is colossal and with our new licence, Ripple is ready to help the UK’s businesses seize that opportunity.”
The UK EMI licence complements the growing focus on retrieving licences to remain compliant in various markets across the globe over the past year, including the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
What can Ripple offer UK clients?
At the centre of the EMI licence approval is the ability for Ripple to scale Ripple Payments throughout the UK, as well as the cryptocurrencies and stablecoins it offers on its platform.
These digital currencies, such as Ripple’s native stablecoin RLUSD, will be available to customers to perform global payouts to Ripple partners that accept Ripple Payments.
Ripple supports each transaction as it handles the underlying blockchain using the XRP ledger to facilitate and settle the payment. The process aims to reduce the operational complexity of handling digital asset transactions for businesses by removing infrastructure manual work.
Businesses and customers will be able to use Ripple’s digital asset custody services and RLUSD for payments, as well as access to Ripple Prime. This service is a multi-asset prime broker platform which enables brokerage across foreign exchanges, digital assets, derivatives, and swaps.
“Finance is undergoing a fundamental shift, and we are rapidly moving beyond pilots into a new era where blockchain and digital assets serve as critical infrastructure for the global economy,” said Monica Long, President of Ripple.
“Extending Ripple’s licensing portfolio and payments solution is about more than just efficiency; it is about unlocking trillions in dormant capital and realising a world where value moves instantaneously. We are thrilled to see the UK embracing the compliant infrastructure necessary to make this vision a reality.”
