Ripple Markets UK

E-money or payment institution · London, United Kingdom

Ripple Markets UK Ltd is the British subsidiary of Ripple Labs, incorporated on 25 April 2016 as Ripple Europe Ltd and renamed in August 2022. The FCA authorised it as an electronic money institution on 9 January 2026 under FRN 1028021 and separately registered it as a cryptoasset business under the money laundering rules. It sells Ripple Payments, a cross-border payment platform that collects, holds, exchanges and pays out in fiat and in the stablecoins RLUSD, USDC and USDT, to banks, fintechs and payment service providers. Ripple says the network reaches more than 60 markets and has processed over USD 100 billion in payments volume. The UK company states it directs its services only at investment professionals and high net worth companies, and its funds are safeguarded rather than covered by the FSCS.

Legal name: Ripple Markets UK Ltd
Regulated by: FCA (UK electronic money institution 1028021 and registered cryptoasset business), CSSF (Luxembourg, Ripple Payments Europe SA, registration W21), DFSA (Dubai International Financial Centre, Ripple Middle East Limited, F008529), MAS (Singapore, Ripple Markets APAC Pte. Ltd., Digital Payment Token services), NYDFS (New York trust company charter, group level)
Licence confirmed: yes, on a regulator's own list
Established: 2016
Website: ripple.com

Scores, 0 to 10

9.0Crypto-friendly bank

Crypto is the business: the UK entity is a registered FCA cryptoasset firm, settlement runs in RLUSD, USDC and USDT, and Ripple names crypto businesses, fintechs and banks as its customers. · source

9.0Stablecoins (USDC, USDT and others)

The Ripple group issues RLUSD and settles cross-border payments for UK institutions in RLUSD, USDC and USDT under the UK EMI licence granted 9 January 2026. · source

7.5Off-ramp: crypto to fiat in a business account

The UK EMI licence lets Ripple manage cross-border flows where digital assets are converted and paid out in local fiat through its payout partners, for institutional clients only. · source

7.0Fintech companies that need a partner bank

Banks, fintechs and payment service providers are the three customer segments Ripple names, sold collect, hold, exchange and payout components through one API. · source

7.0Accept crypto payments

Ripple sells a stablecoin collections product for USDC, USDT and RLUSD with off-ramping to 18+ fiat currencies through one API, aimed at fintechs and banks that serve merchants rather than direct checkout for shops. · source

7.0On-ramp: buy crypto with fiat

Ripple Payments provides fiat-to-stablecoin ramps in 18+ currencies by API, but the FCA barred the UK entity from serving consumers, micro-enterprises and charities in January 2026, so only larger institutions qualify. · source

6.5Cross-border payments, FX and multi-currency accounts

Conversion between fiat and digital assets runs 24/7/365 with payouts across more than 60 markets on a network that has processed over USD 100 billion, but no currency count and no FX margin are published. Virtual accounts, wallets and one consolidated balance view for internal treasury, strengthened by the roughly USD 1 billion purchase of the treasury software firm GTreasury in October 2025, but no cash pooling or hedging is published. · source

5.0Europe (EU, EEA, Switzerland)

Ripple Payments Europe SA is authorised and regulated by the CSSF in Luxembourg as an electronic money institution under registration W21, a sister company of the UK entity. · source

5.0United Kingdom

FCA authorised electronic money institution FRN 1028021 since 9 January 2026, but barred from serving consumers, micro-enterprises and charities and limited to investment professionals and high net worth companies. · source

5.0United States

Ripple states the group holds a NYDFS trust company charter, the basis on which RLUSD is issued, plus US money transmitter licences, though the US entity is not this UK company. · source

5.0Financial strength & stability

Privately held and unrated, with no published balance sheet; the SEC case closed in August 2025 with a USD 125 million penalty and the group spent about USD 4 billion on acquisitions in 2023 to 2025. · source

5.0Crypto wallet and custody for a business

Ripple markets business wallets group-wide, but the UK entity's January 2026 FCA cryptoasset registration came with conditions barring broader crypto activity without further approval, and no UK custody account for companies is shown. · source

4.0Asia-Pacific (SG, HK, AU, JP, KR)

Ripple Markets APAC Pte. Ltd. is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to provide Digital Payment Token services; no other APAC hub licence is named on the compliance page. · source

4.0Middle East & Gulf

Ripple Middle East Limited is registered in the Dubai International Financial Centre and regulated by the DFSA under reference F008529. · source

4.0Foreign-owned & non-resident companies

Ripple publishes no list of accepted countries or ownership rules, and the UK entity's own disclosure limits it to investment professionals and high net worth bodies, so there is no published path for a foreign-owned SME. · source

3.5Lowest fees

Ripple publishes no price list, no transfer fee and no FX margin for Ripple Payments; every product page ends with a request to talk to the sales team. · source

3.5High-risk verticals (iGaming, cannabis, adult, forex)

Ripple publishes no acceptable use or prohibited business policy: its legal index lists terms of use, privacy and cookie policies, a money transfer licence page, RLUSD user terms, complaints and dispute resolution, and nothing on gambling, adult or forex clients. · source

3.0Fast digital onboarding

There is no self-serve signup and no published time to open; the UK entity says it directs services only at investment professionals and high net worth companies, so onboarding runs through sales and due diligence. · source

3.0Online businesses: e-commerce and SaaS

No card acquiring, marketplace payout or chargeback product appears on the product pages; the offer is institutional cross-border payments and stablecoin settlement. No receiving accounts, accounting integrations or revenue-based financing for software companies; the named customers are banks, fintechs and payment service providers. · source

3.0Customer satisfaction

No usable review data exists. Trustpilot holds 19 reviews for ripple.com, under the 20 this index treats as a sample, and Ripple Markets UK serves investment professionals with no consumer app to read instead. · source

2.5Startups & VC-backed companies

The UK company restricts its services to investment professionals and high net worth companies under the Financial Promotion Order, which rules out an ordinary early-stage startup. · source

2.0Best interest on business balances

Ripple states plainly that it does not pay interest on safeguarded funds, and no treasury or sweep product for balances is offered. · source

2.0Business cards (Visa, Mastercard)

The product set is collect, hold, exchange and payout; no business debit or credit card, virtual card or spend control is offered on any Ripple Payments page. · source

2.0Bitcoin

The UK entity's products are stablecoin-based payments; bitcoin trading or custody for UK companies is not offered by Ripple Markets UK, and Ripple Prime brokerage runs in other group entities. · source

2.0Ethereum

USDC and RLUSD move on Ethereum inside Ripple Payments, but the UK entity offers no ether buying, custody or staking for companies, checked September 2026. · source

1.5Trade, manufacturing & import-export

No letters of credit, guarantees, documentary collections or supply chain finance appear anywhere in the product set, which is collect, hold, exchange and payout. · source

Sources

Built on public information and the BankStore team's own aggregated experience; no confidential client or partner data. Bank Index and BankStore are not banks. This is information, not financial advice.