Reese Merrick, Ripple’s senior executive officer and managing director for the Middle East and Africa, took to the stage at the recently concluded Binance Blockchain Week to discuss financial payments rails. Ripple executives shared their views on where Ripple is headed and discussed the benefits of XRP and RLUSD on the XRP ledger in moving value.
Merrick, along with Mastercard's SVP of Digital Assets and Blockchain, Christian Lau, and TON's VP of Payments, Nicolas Plecas, had a thoughtful discussion about financial payments rails at the Binance event.
@Ripple's Reece Merrick joins @Mastercard's Christian Rau and @ton_blockchain's Nikola Plecas for a thoughtful discussion about financial payments rails.
This session will be moderated by Ian Allison from @CoinDesk. pic.twitter.com/IHHMGiB81r— Binance (@binance) December 4, 2025
Mastercard's Christian Lau said mobile payments were new 10 years ago, but are now the norm. Comparing this to cryptocurrencies, Lau said digital assets have become important for the next generation, allowing them to borrow and spend. Speaking about digital assets, Lau said they are world-changing and require a systemic transformation.
Merrick highlighted the growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, in line with insights shared by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse at the event.
Stablecoins: the next big thing in payments?
Ripple executive Reece Merrick recalled early conversations a few years ago, when mentioning cryptocurrencies and stablecoins made people uncomfortable, especially in Europe, but the narrative has changed. Merrick added: “It's extremely important for banks and institutions to have a digital asset strategy.”
As reported, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse highlighted the growing acceptance of stablecoins, stating that more people are aware of them and their value.
According to Nicolas Plecas, vice president of payments, TON and stablecoins offer a lot of utility to users. The discussion comes as financial institutions around the world increasingly recognize the value of blockchain and stablecoins in modernizing the way money moves.
At the Swell event held in November, Ripple announced that it would be working with Mastercard, WebBank, and Gemini to explore the use of Ripple USD (RLUSD) on XRPL. The initiative aims to enable the RLUSD stablecoin on XRPL to facilitate blockchain-based payment processes between Mastercard and Gemini Credit Card issuer WebBank.
