Cross River Bank links $2.4B RLUSD to core banking system

Cross River Bank is adding Ripple’s US dollar-backed RLUSD stablecoin to its core banking platform with XRP Ledger support, giving fintechs a route to stablecoin payments through the same connection they use for conventional banking services.

The New Jersey bank announced the partnership on Oct. 15 and says customers can now access RLUSD through one API without deploying blockchain infrastructure. Services are available only in a limited number of US states, which the release did not identify.

The arrangement opens a distribution channel for Ripple through a bank that supplies payments infrastructure to other financial businesses. Cross River is extending its existing stablecoin platform, positioning RLUSD as an additional payment rail for fintech customers and payment networks.

Dollar and stablecoin payments through one connection

Cross River says fintechs can use its proprietary Core Operating System (COS) to move between US dollars and RLUSD, settle cross-border payments and treasury transfers around the clock, and access ACH, wires and real-time payments.

The API is the software connection between a fintech and the bank’s services. Cross River handles the integration with the blockchain payment network, allowing customers to access RLUSD alongside conventional payment options through that connection.

Adam Goller, Cross River’s head of fintech banking, said:

“Businesses shouldn’t have to rely on several different providers to move money across the globe.”

He added that the RLUSD integration expands capabilities the bank was already developing, bringing stablecoin transfers and traditional rails into its existing platform.

The companies also pitch the integration as another settlement option for payment networks. Issuers and acquirers, the institutions that issue payment cards and handle merchants’ card transactions, could gain more flexibility to settle within the day and reduce settlement delays.

Cross River cites XRP Ledger settlement times of three to five seconds. ACH, wires and other conventional rails remain separate options reached through COS.

RLUSD is distinct from XRP, the XRP Ledger’s native asset. The announcement identifies RLUSD as the dollar-backed payment asset and XRPL as the blockchain supporting it. Any role for XRP as the principal transferred between customers remains unspecified.

Markus Infanger, senior vice president of RippleX at Ripple, described the partnership as a way to make stablecoins part of the banking infrastructure businesses already use. The proposition is access through an established banking relationship, with the bank providing the connection to on-chain settlement.

On Nov. 24, 2025, Cross River announced a COS-integrated stablecoin-payments offering for approved fintech, enterprise and crypto partners, also with limited-state availability. The new announcement adds RLUSD and XRP Ledger support to that broader platform.

In a March 24 explanation, Luca Cosentino, Cross River’s head of crypto, described accounts that could send and receive stablecoins directly from dollar balances. He cited issuer integrations, automated liquidity, and standardized APIs as features of the bank’s approach.

The deal follows other efforts to distribute RLUSD through established banks. On Oct. 12, Standard Chartered launched RLUSD custody for eligible institutional clients holding XRPL-issued RLUSD through its Dubai International Financial Centre branch, with a separate LMAX collateral integration still planned.

Cross River’s partnership extends that banking presence into payments and settlement.

RLUSD had a market capitalization of about $2.4 billion as of Oct. 16, while Cross River’s Oct. 15 release separately put issuance on the XRP Ledger above $1 billion.