Ripple Targets AFSL License

Ripple is planning to obtain a key financial license in Australia by acquiring a local payments company. The firm intends to purchase BC Payments Australia, an entity affiliated with the European Banking Circle Group. Through the deal, Ripple will gain access to the Australian Financial Services License (AFSL), which is expected to become mandatory for certain cryptocurrency firms providing financial services in Australia.

According to information reported by The Australian, the transaction is expected to be finalized on April 1. Fiona Murray, Ripple’s Managing Director for the APAC region, noted that there is strong institutional interest in investing in digital assets in Australia. In her view, obtaining a license has been part of the company’s strategy from the very beginning.

Ripple sees Australia as an important market for its payments business. Securing the AFSL would allow the company to manage the entire transaction process. This includes customer onboarding, regulatory compliance, funding, currency exchange, liquidity management, and the final payout of funds. The system is designed to combine traditional banking infrastructure with solutions based on digital assets.

The acquisition fits into Ripple’s broader strategy of actively securing licenses across multiple markets over the past year. The company has already obtained payment licenses in Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Recently, it also received conditional approval for a national trust bank license in the United States.

Ripple is also expanding use cases for the XRP cryptocurrency and the Ripple USD stablecoin. In recent months, the company has completed several important acquisitions, including broker Hidden Road and corporate treasury management platform GTreasury. Following the purchase of Hidden Road—now operating as Ripple Prime—the company became the first crypto firm to own and operate a multi-asset prime broker serving institutional clients.

Ripple’s plans come as Australia continues to work on new cryptocurrency regulations. The Digital Asset Framework bill was passed by the lower house of parliament in February and has now moved to the Senate. At the same time, the country’s financial regulator, ASIC, has proposed new rules for the industry.

ASIC has also stated that cryptocurrency trading platforms should hold an AFSL license. However, the regulator will not begin enforcing licensing requirements until at least June 30, 2026. The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is also expected to seek the same license in the coming months.

Fiona Murray hopes the new regulations will help resolve the issue of so-called “debanking” in Australia. Many banks currently restrict transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges. The country’s largest financial institutions have introduced various forms of blocks or limits on such transactions.