Ripple announced plans to obtain an Australian financial services license through the proposed acquisition of BC Payments Australia Pty Ltd on Wednesday, according to a statement shared with CoinDesk.
The acquisition, which is not yet finalized, would allow Ripple to offer its full payments suite in Australia, covering onboarding, compliance, financing, foreign exchange, liquidity management and payment through a single integration.
Australian customers currently using Ripple Payments include Hai Ha Money Transfer, Stables, Caleb & Brown, Flash Payments and Independent Reserve.
“Australia is a key market for Ripple, and an AFSL strengthens our ability to expand Ripple payments across the region,” Fiona Murray, managing director of Asia Pacific, said in a statement.
Regional figures support this push. Ripple said its payments volume in the APAC region nearly doubled year-over-year in 2025, although it did not disclose specific figures.
This growth comes on top of the $100 billion in total processed volume the company reported last week when it announced managed custody, virtual account recovery and stablecoin settlement capabilities across 60 markets.
Ripple also said it is participating in Project Acacia, an initiative led by the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Center focused on digital asset infrastructure.
The licensing approach is remarkable. Rather than directly applying for an AFSL, Ripple is acquiring a company that already has one. This is a faster path to market, but means the license is contingent on the deal closing, which has not yet happened.
XRP was trading at $1.38, up 0.3% on the day and 1.7% on the week.
