Western Union: 'Too Early' to Discuss Ripple Labs Pilot Project
Global payments giant Western Union is keeping quiet about its rumored plans to tap distributed ledger technology.
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Western Union has formally responded to statements suggesting it is taking concrete steps toward using distributed ledger technologies via a partnership with Ripple Labs.
Long cited as a technology that could enable more cost-effective cross-border payments, Western Union has, as commentators have noted, what is perhaps one of the more evident vested interests in exploring digital currency offerings.
Still, representatives for the Colorado-based company remain tight-lipped about what the proposed project with Ripple Labs would entail.
A spokesperson told CoinDesk:
The revelation suggests Western Union may be looking to use a system like Ripple to move fiat payments between customers in a similar manner as Align Commerce, which uses the bitcoin blockchain as means to remit payment across borders where it is exchanged locally.