TLDR
- Ripple plans to acquire BC Payments Australia to secure an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL)
- The deal is expected to close April 1, 2026, giving Ripple faster access to Australia’s regulated market
- Ripple’s APAC payments volume nearly doubled year-over-year in 2025, contributing to $100 billion in total processed volume across 60 markets
- XRP was trading at $1.38, up 0.3% on the day and 1.7% on the week at the time of the announcement
- Ripple is also joining Project Acacia, a digital asset infrastructure initiative led by Australia’s central bank
Ripple is moving to secure a financial services license in Australia by buying an existing payments company that already holds one. The deal would let the company offer regulated crypto payment services in the country without waiting for a fresh application to be approved.
Exciting milestone for @Ripple in Australia! 🇦🇺
Ripple is obtaining an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL). As we continue to bridge TradFi with the next gen of digital infrastructure, regulatory compliance remains the foundation of everything we build:… pic.twitter.com/JNF1iQSyG7
— Ripple (@Ripple) March 10, 2026
The company announced plans to acquire BC Payments Australia Pty Ltd, a corporate entity tied to the European Banking Circle Group. The deal gives Ripple access to an Australian Financial Services License, which the company says is key to scaling its payments business in the region.
The acquisition is expected to close on April 1, according to Ripple APAC managing director Fiona Murray. She said there was “enough institutional interest in digital assets to warrant the investment.”
Rather than applying for a new AFSL directly, Ripple chose to buy a company that already holds one. It’s a faster route to market, though the license depends on the deal completing successfully.
With the AFSL in place, Ripple says it can manage the full lifecycle of a payment — from onboarding and compliance through to funding, foreign exchange, liquidity management, and final payout — combining traditional banking and digital assets in one system.
Australian customers already using Ripple Payments include Hai Ha Money Transfer, Stables, Caleb & Brown, Flash Payments, and Independent Reserve.
Ripple’s APAC Growth
Ripple said its APAC payments volume nearly doubled year-on-year in 2025, though it did not release specific figures. That growth is part of a broader milestone the company reported last week — $100 billion in total processed volume across 60 markets.
The company is also joining Project Acacia, an initiative run by the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre, focused on digital asset infrastructure.
Australia is in the process of building out its crypto regulatory framework. The Digital Asset Framework bill passed the lower house in February and is currently before the Senate. The country’s markets regulator, ASIC, has said it won’t take enforcement action on licensing until at least June 30, 2026.
Ripple’s Broader Licensing Push
The Australia move is part of a wider licensing effort. Over the last 12 months, Ripple has secured payment licenses in Singapore, the UAE, and the UK. It also recently received conditional approval for a national trust banking charter in the US.
Ripple expanded further through acquisitions, buying Hidden Road — now rebranded Ripple Prime — making it the first crypto-native company to own a multi-asset prime broker. It also acquired corporate treasury platform GTreasury.
Murray said she hopes the AFSL move will help address crypto debanking in Australia, where major banks have placed restrictions on customers sending money to crypto exchanges. Australia’s four largest banks — Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, National Australia Bank, and Westpac — have all imposed some form of these restrictions.
Crypto exchange Coinbase is also working to secure an AFSL in the coming months.
XRP was trading at $1.38, up 0.3% on the day and 1.7% on the week at the time of the announcement.
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