Ripple Expands Into Europe’s Financial Epicenter

FinTech startup Ripple announced its debut in Europe with the opening of a new office in London, which will serve the growing banking demands in the region.

“We’re excited to continue growing our global presence by establishing roots in London, one of the most important financial centers of the world,” said Ripple CEO and Cofounder Chris Larsen. “After establishing our APAC subsidiary last year, we’ve seen tremendous traction in Asia, leading to the recent creation of SBI Ripple Asia, and we’re looking forward to similarly rapid growth in Europe starting with this new office.”

The San Francisco-based company has appointed Daniel Aranda as its managing director of Europe to collaborate with leading financial players, regulators and central banks to further drive adoption of Ripple’s financial settlement and cross-border payment offerings.

Ripple’s move to set up a permanent base in Europe comes as the company sees continued growth with its partners, including Santander and Fidor Bank, and sees a strong interest for its enterprise blockchain solution — the only product of its kind in the market, according to Ripple.

“The European region is unique as an established global financial center that is leading the industry in embracing new technologies and modernizing its banking infrastructure. We see enormous potential here,” Aranda said. “European banks are proving to be first adopters of distributed financial technology and, in particular, Ripple’s solutions.”

To oversee sales, the company also announced the appointment of Patricia Pittomvils as its sales director of Europe, according to a press release. Pittomvils, who brings 25 years of experience in banking operations, has previously worked for several payment players, such as Clear2Pay, CGI, Fundtech, Tieto and VocaLink, the U.K.’s legacy payment infrastructure.

With the addition of the U.K. to its roster, the company now operates out of four offices, including ones in San Francisco, New York and Sydney.