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A document from the Central Bank of Uruguay has registered Ripple as a money transfer company

A document from the Central Bank of Uruguay, in which Ripple is mentioned seven times, is currently causing quite a stir in the XRP community. The document is dated March 7, 2022, but it is said to have been published less than a week ago on the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU) website, where it can still be found.

The news was first reported by XRP community member Rafael Aguiar Menéndez from Uruguay, and it was later spread by Edo Farina, CEO of Alpha Lions Academy. Ripple precise role is still not entirely clear. The document, however, reveals that the Central Bank registered Ripple partner LATAM SOFTWARE S.A.S. as a "money transfer company" and granted it the right to specifically outsource services to Ripple. That LATAM SOFTWARE S.A.S. has provided all of the information required by current regulations for the requested registration as a money transfer company.

Likewise, it has provided the information and documentation required by current regulations regarding service outsourcing, including the updated Operational Continuity Plan, contracts signed with Mati Technologies, Inc. and Ripple Services, Inc., and the Amazon Web Services, Inc. AWS user contract model. According to the document, Mati Technologies, a Mexican company, meets the requirements for the provider of the technological platform used for the customer registration process (KYC). Based on a contract with Ripple Services Inc., the BCU authorizes LATAM SOFTWARE S.A.S to use the RippleNet platform.

That the requirements for authorizing the company to contract Ripple Services, Inc. for the use of its RippleNet platform used for information exchange between correspondents, as well as its subcontracting with the provider Amazon Web Services (AWS) for the hosting of the information in the cloud on servers in London, England, are met under the terms of the Ripple Master Hosted Services Agreement signed on March 12, 2021. Furthermore, according to the document, BCU authorized LATAM SOFTWARE S.A.S. to outsource services to Ripple Services, Inc. by the Ripple Master Hosted Services Agreement, which was signed on '03.12.2021.

What Does This Mean for Ripple?

At this point, we can only speculate on the implications. Wrath of Kahnemann, a well-known XRP community member, explained, poking a little deeper, it appears they would intend to contract with Ripple for messaging/data only, not ODL. As explained above, it appears that the BCU has granted a license to use the Ripple services to LATAM Software S.A., “I have written to the president and vice president of the BCU on LinkedIn but have not received a response yet," Menéndez said when asked if the Bank of Uruguay is using traditional settlement rails or XRP-based On-Demand Liquidity technology.

Notably, Uruguay was the first country to launch a large-scale CBDC (e-peso) pilot program in November 2017, but it did so using a proprietary payment system rather than a blockchain. Despite the success of the pilot, the country has yet to announce concrete plans for the launch of a CBDC. Menéndez shared an article on the payments system's roadmap for 2023-2025 in this regard. The Central Bank of Uruguay "intends to take the lead in creating appropriate conditions for the introduction of new products or technologies that contribute to the innovative development of the national payments system, improve its efficiency and accessibility, and ensure its operational continuity," according to a November 2022 presentation.

Over the next two years, the agenda includes completing the rollout of comprehensive 24/7 clearing systems and promoting the implementation of a fast payment system by "international best practices." At press time, the XRP price was $0.3857, up 0.4% in the previous 24 hours.