XRP Up 44% as Korean Bank Taps Ripple for Cross-Border Payments

XRP has made weekly gains of as much as 44% as the broader crypto market has rallied. At the time of writing, XRP is trading at US$1.44 (AU$2.00) and has the fifth-largest market cap according to CoinMarketCap.

XRP outperformed both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), which had weekly gains of 21% and 28%, respectively. The coin’s strong performance comes after news broke late last week that a Korean bank had chosen Ripple for a cross-border partnership.

In a press release, Ripple said Jeonbuk Bank has become the first regional bank in South Korea to use its Ripple Payments system for cross-border business remittances.

Read also: Ripple Raises US$275M to Fuel Financial Services Expansion

No More Waiting Around

The deal is aimed at businesses that still rely on traditional transfers routed through intermediary banks using SWIFT, where payments can take days to arrive. Ripple Payments cuts that process down to seconds or minutes and runs around the clock.

That means Jeonbuk Bank can offer quicker cross-border payments to customers ranging from import-export firms to IT startups and online creators. Less waiting, better visibility and potentially lower costs are the pitch.

Ripple’s Asia Pacific managing director Fiona Murray said the partnership shows Korean financial institutions are increasingly looking for infrastructure to support their digital asset plans. Jeonbuk Bank president Park Choon-won added that the deal should help push the bank beyond its regional roots and towards becoming a digital finance player.

Ripple’s Korea Push

Jeonbuk Bank isn’t operating in isolation. Ripple has already struck deals this year with two major Korean financial institutions, each using its technology for different purposes.

Kyobo Life Insurance, Korea’s largest life insurer, is exploring on-chain settlement for government bonds, as CNA reported here. Meanwhile, internet-only bank Kbank is rolling out Ripple’s institutional wallet infrastructure through Ripple Custody.

As Ripple expands its work with Korean financial institutions, its aim is to cover payments, custody and tokenised assets.

Read more: Ripple: Sept. 15 Could Be a Make-or-Break Moment for the Crypto Clarity Act

For Jeonbuk Bank, the focus is cross-border payments. The new service will let the bank settle international business transfers in seconds or minutes, rather than the days traditional bank transfers can take. The partnership was announced on 18 August 2026.