Ripple Taps Zand Bank to Boost RLUSD Stablecoin Use in UAE

Ripple, issuer of XRP, has announced that they are adding to their existing agreement with Zand Bank as it aims to increase the usage of their RLUSD stablecoin. The initiative will also support the use of the Bank’s stablecoin, AEDZ.

XRP News: Ripple to Increase RLUSD Support in UAE

Ripple said in a press release that it had expanded its partnership with Zand Bank in order to expand the use of its RLUSD stablecoin. This step is meant to mark the beginning of the phase that will see the two stablecoins connect.

The announcement was also made by Reece Merrick, managing director, who handles Ripple operations within the Middle East and Africa regions. He mentioned that they are planning to explore a number of projects that will incorporate two types of stablecoins as part of their new partnership.

The XRP issuer had entered into a partnership with Zand Bank initially in 2025. Through the deal, it attempted to make cross-border payments through the use of blockchain technology. They looked to ease settlements, thus reducing transactional costs.

Furthermore, in late 2025, Zand Bank also developed a stablecoin called AEDZ, which is backed by the UAE Dirham and is intended for public blockchains. This is also said to be among the very first regulated stablecoins that use the AED currency.

Michael Chan, the CEO of Zand, shared his enthusiasm regarding this new partnership with Ripple. He also highlighted what this means for the adoption of stablecoins and XRP transactions.

RLUSD Sees Further Use Cases in World Economy

The Ripple stablecoin has continued to see adoption across the digital economy space across different regions. In November last year, RLUSD gained official recognition as an Accepted Fiat Referenced Token in Abu Dhabi. This was approved by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FRSA) of the Global Market in Abu Dhabi. This followed its securing of a DFSA license in the region.

Also, the XRP issuer recently got a boost after the U.S. CFTC expanded its list of eligible tokenized collateral on the regulated futures markets. This means its stablecoin can now fall under the definitions of what the CFTC regards as a payment stablecoin that is eligible collateral for use on the derivatives markets.

Meanwhile, in other developments in its ecosystem, the firm recently expanded custody services for its clients. They added Solana and Ethereum staking capabilities for institutions on their platform.