XRP Integration FedNow Isn’t Coming — It’s Already Running

A crypto researcher’s social media post has put a spotlight on something that has been suggested: a potential path for XRP integration into FedNow, the Federal Reserve’s instant payment system, through a technology vendor most bank customers have never heard of. The researcher, known online as SMQKE, connected the dots using Volante Technologies, a firm that already links financial institutions to FedNow and confirms that XRP settlement could run through its existing Ripple connection.

Key takeaways

• Volante Technologies is a confirmed FedNow technology provider with an active Ripple integration, and XRP settlement could be available through that same connection.
• Volante’s Ripple integration dates back to October 2015, when it launched VolPay Hub, and was expanded in 2016 with a dedicated Ripple solution inside its VolPay Foundation platform.
• The 2023 Faster Payments Barometer found that 47% of organizations prefer connecting to FedNow through a third-party service provider rather than building direct connections.
• Volante links institutions to both FedNow and The Clearing House’s RTP network, meaning banks using that route could have access to XRP settlement on the same platform.
• 92% of surveyed organizations said interoperability across payment systems matters to them, according to the same Barometer survey.

Volante Technologies Could Enable XRP Integration with FedNow

The core of this story is not a new announcement but an old partnership that researchers have suggested could be relevant. Volante is one of the technology providers that banks and credit unions use to plug into FedNow, and it happens to be the same company that built one of the earliest enterprise-grade Ripple connections in the payments world.

Longstanding Ripple integration since 2015

Volante’s relationship with Ripple is not a recent pivot toward crypto trends. The company activated Ripple integration capability inside its VolPay Hub back in October 2015, well before real-time payments became a mainstream banking priority. A year later, in 2016, Volante went further and added a dedicated Ripple solution within its VolPay Foundation development platform, then partnered with Ripple to build software meant to speed up connections to Ripple’s real-time cross-border payment system. That integration has stayed active ever since, with banks and other Ripple customers already deploying it in production environments.

Potential XRP settlement through Volante’s Ripple connection

What makes this relevant today is a suggested connection: Volante has stated that XRP settlement could be available through its Ripple connection. That means the infrastructure that could potentially support XRP settlement inside a FedNow-adjacent environment may exist rather than being purely theoretical. Any institution using Volante as its connectivity layer could potentially be positioned to access an XRP settlement rail without needing to build anything new.

Institutional Preferences Highlight Third-Party Service Providers

Most banks would rather outsource FedNow connectivity than build it themselves, and that preference is exactly what makes Volante’s dual role with FedNow and Ripple potentially relevant. When the majority of the market chooses a middleman for network access, whoever runs that middle layer could gain influence over what settlement options become available.

2023 Faster Payments Barometer survey results

The 2023 Faster Payments Barometer asked organizations how they intended to connect to FedNow and the RTP network. The results leaned heavily toward outsourcing: 47% of respondents said they preferred connecting through a third-party service provider, compared with just 32% who planned to build direct connections to each network on their own. That gap underscores how much weight sits behind the phrase FedNow third-party connectivity in practice — for nearly half the market, a vendor like Volante isn’t a convenience, it’s the default route into real-time payments infrastructure.

Expert insights from Volante’s Deepak Gupta

Deepak Gupta, SVP and Global Head of Payments-as-a-Service at Volante, addressed those survey findings directly. He said the “#1 preferred approach to connectivity, according to the Barometer, is via a service provider that can quickly connect institutions to multiple networks.” That statement lines up with Volante’s own positioning, since the company already serves as exactly that kind of multi-network provider for a meaningful share of the market surveyed.

Existing Infrastructure Could Support FedNow-XRP Settlement

The pieces that researchers have connected were already in place before anyone framed it as an XRP story. That is the detail SMQKE’s post highlighted: a potential connection based on existing infrastructure.

Volante’s connection to FedNow and RTP network

Volante doesn’t just plug institutions into FedNow. It also connects them to The Clearing House’s RTP network, giving banks a single vendor relationship that spans two of the major real-time payment rails operating in the United States. That dual connectivity is precisely the model the Barometer survey found most organizations prefer, and it’s the same infrastructure carrying Volante’s Ripple integration alongside it.

Potential status of FedNow and XRP through Volante

Because Volante’s Ripple connection sits on the same platform as its FedNow and RTP connectivity, institutions that chose the third-party route — the 47% identified in the Barometer — could potentially have access to XRP settlement without any additional build-out. This is the part of the story that researchers have highlighted: the potential link between FedNow and XRP through Volante’s infrastructure based on existing connections.

Industry emphasis on payment interoperability

Interoperability keeps surfacing as the industry’s top concern, and the numbers back that up. The same 2023 Barometer found that 92% of respondents consider interoperability across compatible payment systems important. Volante’s multi-network structure, spanning FedNow, RTP, and its Ripple integration, addresses that priority directly by giving institutions one platform instead of several disconnected ones. Extending that structure to include XRP as a settlement option could be a natural extension of a system that was already designed to connect multiple rails.

FAQ

How could XRP be integrated into the FedNow payment system?

XRP could potentially be integrated into FedNow through Volante Technologies, which provides a technology platform that enables XRP settlement via its Ripple connection.

What percentage of organizations prefer using third-party providers to connect to FedNow?

According to the 2023 Faster Payments Barometer, 47% of organizations prefer connecting to FedNow via a third-party service provider.

What role does Volante Technologies play in real-time payment networks?

Volante connects institutions to both FedNow and The Clearing House’s RTP network, facilitating multi-network real-time payments and potentially XRP settlement.

Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.