Ripple’s Tazapay Deal Is a Backdoor Strategy to Convert XRP Liquidity into Local Payouts, Pundit Says

A popular community figure suggests Ripple’s recent investment in Tazapay is a strategic backdoor move aimed at turning XRP liquidity into local payouts.  This week, Ripple made headlines following its participation in Singapore-based payment company Tazapay’s funding round. Per a recent press release, Ripple and other notable investors, including Circle Ventures, participated in Tazapay’s Series B funding round, which raised an undisclosed amount.  Importance of the Deal  Following the close of Tazapay’s Series B funding round, XRP community figure Stern Drew suggested that Ripple’s investment in the company is strategic.  According to Stern, Tazapay is not a crypto native platform but a “bank-facing regulated payment network”. He emphasized that the payment company processes $10 billion annually across more than 70 markets. Like Ripple, Tazapay holds multiple licenses and is experiencing rapid growth.  Stern claimed Tazapay offers virtual bank accounts, local collections and payouts, as well as fiat-to-stablecoin settlement rails. Based on Tazapay’s offerings, Stern indicated that the company is a perfect fit for Ripple.  Strategic Backdoor Move? Furthermore, Stern claimed that despite having strong technology, Ripple has historically struggled with converting XRP liquidity into local payouts in several markets, such as Lagos in Nigeria and Jakarta in Indonesia.  Notably, he claims Ripple’s investment in Tazapay addresses this challenge. With the investment, Ripple would gain access to regulated banking corridors globally, according to him.  He cited comments from Ripple’s SVP Corporate and Business Development Eric Jeck, who referred to Tazapay as a leader in compliant corridors. Stern said Eric’s statement implies that Ripple will leverage Tazapay to integrate XRP into licensed settlement rails.    By investing in Tazapay, the community figure stated that Ripple is expanding its reach in major regions, including Japan, the UAE, Singapore, and the United States. These regions are all strategic financial hubs that could give Ripple a wider footprint.  "SWIFT Is Being Rendered Irrelevant" Furthermore, Stern claimed Circle’s involvement in Tazapay’s latest funding round is also strategic, emphasizing that the payments company is building a dual liquidity grid, comprising USDC stablecoin and XRP.  https://twitter.com/SternDrewCrypto/status/1960765382035161449 In his view, this innovative liquidity grid renders SWIFT irrelevant. Rather than challenging SWIFT directly, he suggested that Ripple is embedding its fintech solutions into firms like Tazapay to build parallel payment corridors that could quietly transition global transactions onto XRP rails.