Ripple Targets April for Australia Financial Licence Deal

Global blockchain payments firm, Ripple, is aiming for early April to secure a key regulatory footprint in the Asia-Pacific region through a planned acquisition that could give the company a key financial services licence in Australia. 

Ripple Moves to Secure Australian Licence Through Acquisition     

Ripple has announced plans to acquire the payments company BC Payments Australia, a payments entity linked to the European Banking Circle Group. The transaction is expected to close around April 1, subject to regulatory approvals. The move would give Ripple access to an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL), a regulatory authorisation required for firms operating within Australia’s regulated financial services framework.

Asia-Pacific managing director Fiona Murray highlighted that obtaining the licence has long been part of Ripple and is enough to warrant the investment as institutional interest in digital assets grows across the region. Murray said,

“Getting licensed was always part of our plan.” 

According to reports, Ripple intends to integrate the licence into its enterprise payments platform, enabling the company to manage the full lifecycle of cross-border payments from onboarding and compliance checks to funding, foreign-exchange handling, liquidity management, and final payouts.

The system is designed to integrate traditional banking rails with blockchain-based settlement infrastructure. The acquisition also arrives as Australia tightens oversight of the crypto sector. Under the new proposed reforms, many crypto service providers may be required to obtain an AFSL or similar licence by 2026.

Institutional Payments Expansion Drives the Move

The licence pursuit reflects a larger shift toward institutional adoption of blockchain-based payment infrastructure. For Ripple, Australia sits within a broader regional network where cross-border payments and remittances play a growing role in financial activity.

Industry data cited by the company indicates that Ripple’s payments volume in the Asia-Pacific region has grown significantly in recent years, with transaction activity nearly doubling in 2025. By securing an AFSL, Ripple could directly operate regulated payment services in Australia in a single integration.

Murray emphasised that Australia is a key market for Ripple and an AFSL would strengthen the company’s ability to scale its payments business throughout the country. She said,

“With the AFSL in place, Ripple Payments can manage the full lifecycle of a transaction, from onboarding and compliance through funding, FX, liquidity management, and final payout, while integrating both traditional banking rails and digital assets.”

Data Shows Ripple’s Global Regulatory Footprint

The planned Australian expansion is part of a broader licensing push across major financial jurisdictions by Ripple.

Over the past year, the company has secured or pursued regulatory approvals in multiple regions to support institutional-grade financial services. These include licences in Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, as well as conditional approval for a US national trust bank charter.

According to company data, payment volumes linked to Ripple’s Asia-Pacific operations nearly doubled in 2025. Ripple has also expanded its institutional infrastructure partnerships, including relationships with prime brokerage firm Hidden Road.

This regulatory push coincides with growing interest from banks and payment companies in blockchain-based settlement tools that can reduce transaction costs and settlement times. In several markets, regulators are developing frameworks that allow digital asset companies to operate alongside traditional financial institutions under licensing systems similar to those used for payment providers and broker-dealers.

Australia itself has taken steps toward regulated digital asset infrastructure, including approving compliant stablecoin payment frameworks and expanding oversight of crypto-related services. If the acquisition closes as expected in April, Australia could become a key regional hub for Ripple’s regulated payments operations.

Ripple would gain a direct regulatory foothold in one of the Asia-Pacific region’s most developed financial markets. The outcome may also serve as a case study for how digital asset companies expand through acquisition-led licensing strategies.