A viral footage from 2018 has resurfaced online, showing CEO Brad Garlinghouse boldly declaring that Ripple was taking over SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications). At the time, the crypto payments company was still in its early growth phase, aggressively positioning itself as a faster and more cost-effective alternative to SWIFT. Today, Ripple has evolved significantly in various aspects, including regulation, payments, global adoption, partnerships, banking, and more.
Ripple CEO Makes Bold Claim To Surpass SWIFT
During the 2018 Bloomberg interview, Garlinghouse was asked whether he believed Ripple could ever take over SWIFT. The CEO responded calmly, “I think what we’re doing and executing on a day-by-day basis is in fact taking over SWIFT.” He stated that the company had already signed with more than 100 banks, noting that some of the largest SWIFT-enabled financial institutions in the world are already using Ripple’s technology.
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Garlinghouse’s statement reflected confidence in Ripple’s growth potential and its ability to transform global payment systems. He pointed to practical, real-world applications, explaining that a remittance company adopted Ripple’s technology in 2018 and lowered the price per transaction from $20 to just $2, leading to a staggering 800% surge in usage overnight. According to him, this type of growth and dynamic is what Ripple can address, while SWIFT has struggled to support.
Despite his bold vision, many in the crypto community today remain skeptical. One possible reason for this doubt is that SWIFT has served as the backbone of international financial communications since 1973. Hence, it has built decades of strong credibility, trust, compliance, and security standards—areas where Ripple, by comparison, is still developing.
However, despite these long-standing advantages, SWIFT falls short in many areas that Ripple aims to improve. The system relies on processes that take 1-5 days for transactions to settle, while Ripple executes transfers in seconds. In addition, SWIFT’s transfers also cost $25-$50 per transaction, while the average all-in costs for institutional payments on Ripple range from $0.001-$0.01 per transaction, a staggering contrast.
One of SWIFT’s biggest flaws today is that it does not move money directly; instead, it sends messages about money while still relying on pre-funded Nostro accounts. This reliance is the key area where Ripple has a huge advantage. While SWIFT’s pre-funded accounts and use of intermediaries slow payments, Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) leverages XRP as a bridge currency to speed up transfers. The crypto company converts the sender’s currency into XRP, moves it across the ledger, and then converts it to the receiver’s currency—all of which is done in seconds.
How Ripple Has Evolved Since 2018
Fast-forward to today, Ripple has overcome major hurdles since 2018, including resolving its almost seven-year legal battle with the US SEC and gaining clearer regulatory guidance and recognition. At the same time, the company has continued to expand globally while enhancing the XRP Ledger (XRPL) with new updates and stronger security features.
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So far, the company continues its efforts to either rival or work with SWIFT. It has established partnerships with hundreds of banks, payment providers, remittance firms, and other institutions. Ripple has also expanded its offerings through various strategic acquisitions, including Hidden Road, Metaco, GTreasury, and others. As a result, the crypto firm now extends its services beyond payments to include custody, settlement, treasury management, and more.
Recently, one of Ripple’s biggest milestones was gaining conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national bank charter. A full license would officially designate Ripple as a federally recognized bank, bringing the company one step closer to its goals.
Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com