With European banks showing huge interest in the potential of distributed ledger technology, San Francisco-based startup Ripple has opened a new office in London to serve the region, and hired former Swift exec Patricia Pittomvils as director of sales.
The London office will be led by managing director Daniel Aranda, who is relocating from Ripple’s US headquarters to spearhead the company’s European presence.
Ripple CEO and co-founder Chris Larsen, says: “After establishing our Apac subsidiary last year, we’ve seen tremendous traction in Asia, leading to the recent creation of SBI Ripple Asia, and we’re looking forward to similarly rapid growth in Europe starting with this new office.”
Ripple already counts Santander and Fidor Bank among its European customer base and has clinched an integration deal with cross-border payment network Earthport. The company claims that its network and native currency could save banks up to 60% on costs associated with global interbank settlements.
The first key hire for the new office is sales director Patricia Pittomvils, who brings nearly 25 years of experience in banking operations to the role, including time at Clear2Pay, CGI, Fundtech, Tieto and VocaLink. Earlier in her career, she spent 10 years as regional sales manager at Swift.