Western Union trials reveal Ripple is 5X expensive
- I’m open, any cost savings, any innovation…We can sign a deal tomorrow,” Western Union CEO.
- Ripple recently entered into partnership with Western Union key competitor MoneyGram.

Western Union chief executive officer, Hikmet Ersek while speaking at the Brainstorm 2019 conference, talked about cryptocurrencies and particularly Ripple. The payments guru has been testing Ripple’s technology for a while and the results after five trials reveal that Western Union is five times cheaper that Ripple. In spite of this interesting finding, the company is still optimistic of cryptocurrencies and their role in money transfer.
Ersek confirmed that Western Union has a special group of investors who invest only in crypto and other blockchain-related projects.
His remarks come after Ripple entered into a much-publicized partnership with MoneyGram. MoneyGram will be incorporating Ripple payments for cross-border remittance in return Ripple will part with $50 million. The investment is to earn Ripple a stake in MoneyGram between 8% and 10%. According Ersek:
“MoneyGram needed something, and Ripple needed something, so it sounds like a good deal.”
The CEO later showed his openness to innovative partnerships saying:
“Look, hey, I’m open, any cost savings, any innovation. I’m there. We can sign a deal tomorrow.”
Author

John Isige
FXStreet
John Isige is a seasoned cryptocurrency journalist and markets analyst committed to delivering high-quality, actionable insights tailored to traders, investors, and crypto enthusiasts. He enjoys deep dives into emerging Web3 tren





