Global Nonprofits Embrace Ripple Payments and Ripple USD to Transform Humanitarian Aid and Financial Inclusion
Ripple, a leading financial technology company known for its blockchain-based payment solutions, has announced a major partnership with several global nonprofit and humanitarian organizations. World Central Kitchen, Water.org, GiveDirectly, and Mercy Corps are among the latest to leverage Ripple Payments and Ripple USD (RLUSD)—a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin—to accelerate aid distribution, improve transparency, and drive measurable social impact around the world.
This development marks a significant step toward redefining how global aid and development funds are delivered, especially in regions where traditional banking systems are slow, costly, or inaccessible. By combining blockchain innovation with humanitarian action, Ripple and its nonprofit partners are proving how financial technology can become a force for good, enabling faster response times and expanding access to essential financial resources.
Accelerating Humanitarian Funding Through Blockchain
Nonprofits often face logistical and financial challenges when transferring funds across borders, particularly during crises or in underdeveloped regions with limited financial infrastructure. Traditional payment channels can take days to process transactions, incur high transfer fees, and require extensive intermediaries—reducing the efficiency of aid distribution.
Ripple’s blockchain-powered Ripple Payments platform aims to solve these pain points. The system allows organizations to send money globally within seconds, around the clock, and without relying on conventional banks. Through this model, nonprofits can deliver funds to their partners and beneficiaries more quickly, securely, and transparently.
A key advantage of Ripple Payments is that it offers access to digital asset technology without requiring organizations to handle cryptocurrency directly. When paired with Ripple USD (RLUSD), Ripple’s fully backed U.S. dollar stablecoin, the solution becomes even more powerful. RLUSD enables low-cost, real-time transactions that can easily integrate into humanitarian workflows such as cash transfers, microloans, and insurance payouts.
Ripple’s President, Monica Long, emphasized the broader significance of this collaboration, stating:
Our partners and customers are redefining how urgent aid, sustainable development, and financial support reach those who need it most. It’s a powerful example of what happens when innovation meets purpose—showing how blockchain technology can reshape the systems behind global relief and unlock lasting impact at scale.”
World Central Kitchen: Faster Funding for Crisis Response
World Central Kitchen (WCK), founded by Chef José Andrés, has become synonymous with fast, efficient food relief in disaster zones. Since 2020, Ripple has supported WCK in delivering millions of meals to communities and first responders affected by natural disasters. Now, WCK is deepening that partnership by adopting Ripple Payments and RLUSD to improve the speed of its financial operations.
In areas without established banking infrastructure, sending funds to local restaurants and vendors can be complex and time-consuming. With Ripple’s blockchain solution, WCK can now transfer money in hours rather than days—ensuring that local partners can start cooking and serving meals almost immediately after a disaster strikes.
Joshua Tripp, President of Innovation at WCK, highlighted the life-saving potential of this technology:
When disaster strikes, World Central Kitchen mobilizes with the urgency of now to bring fresh meals to first responders and impacted communities. With Ripple, we’re testing new financial technologies to settle payments in hours instead of days, even in challenging environments, allowing us to serve more communities in their most vulnerable moments.”
This approach demonstrates how blockchain technology can simplify one of the most critical elements of disaster response: getting money to the right people, at the right time, so that help arrives when it matters most.
Water.org: Expanding Access to Safe Water and Sanitation
Founded by Gary White and actor Matt Damon, Water.org has improved access to clean water and sanitation for more than 81 million people globally. The organization is known for its innovative approach to financial inclusion—helping low-income families obtain affordable loans to build toilets, install water taps, or connect to municipal water systems.
After a successful pilot with Ripple in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru, Water.org plans to expand its use of Ripple Payments throughout Latin America and into new regions such as Africa and Asia. The goal is to streamline funding to microfinance partners, who then distribute affordable loans to local communities.
Ripple’s technology has allowed Water.org to reduce the cost and time associated with transferring funds, ensuring that more capital reaches its intended recipients. According to Gary White, CEO and Co-founder of Water.org:
At Water.org, we’re always looking for new ways to make financing for safe water and sanitation for families in need faster and more affordable. Through our collaboration with Ripple, we’re exploring how digital payments can help us move funds more efficiently to our local partners — unlocking capital faster so more families can access the solutions they need to survive and thrive.”
By reducing transfer delays and administrative overhead, Ripple Payments helps Water.org scale its mission—enabling faster project execution and broader impact for communities in need.
Mercy Corps and GiveDirectly: Innovating with Stablecoins
Ripple is also working closely with other humanitarian leaders to pilot Ripple USD (RLUSD) in creative new ways that enhance financial resilience and emergency response. In collaboration with Mercy Corps Ventures, Ripple is testing RLUSD in parametric insurance and anticipatory cash transfer programs—two models that help vulnerable populations access funds before or immediately after crises.
Mercy Corps Ventures is currently conducting pilot programs in Kenya, using stablecoins to deliver aid faster to families facing emergencies. Similar pilots are being developed with GiveDirectly, another nonprofit known for its direct cash transfer programs that empower recipients to decide how best to use their aid.
Scott Onder, Chief Investment Officer at Mercy Corps, explained the transformative potential of stablecoin-based aid:
Through our pilot in Kenya, we’re testing how stablecoins like RLUSD can move aid faster and more reliably to people facing crises. For families waiting on emergency cash or insurance payouts, even a few hours can make a difference—and blockchain-enabled payments are helping us close that gap.”
These initiatives underscore the real-world value of stablecoins in humanitarian contexts—where speed, reliability, and transparency can mean the difference between resilience and vulnerability.
Ripple USD: Powering a More Inclusive Financial Future
Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, launched less than a year ago, has already surpassed a $900 million market cap, signaling strong trust and adoption. Unlike volatile cryptocurrencies, RLUSD is fully backed by U.S. dollar reserves, making it a reliable medium for both enterprises and nonprofits seeking stable, low-cost cross-border payments.
Stablecoins like RLUSD offer a compelling alternative to traditional remittance and aid transfer services, which often charge high fees and impose delays. By enabling near-instant settlement with minimal costs, RLUSD increases the total amount received by beneficiaries—effectively amplifying the impact of every dollar donated or deployed.
Beyond its use in humanitarian aid, Ripple envisions a broader future where stablecoins help bridge financial gaps for the world’s 1.7 billion unbanked people. The company believes that blockchain-based systems can serve as the foundation for a more inclusive, transparent, and resilient global financial infrastructure.
A Mission to Unite Innovation and Impact
Ripple’s growing partnerships with leading nonprofits showcase how fintech can be a catalyst for positive change. By merging cutting-edge technology with humanitarian purpose, Ripple and its partners are redefining global philanthropy, creating a faster, fairer, and more efficient system for moving money where it’s needed most.
This collaboration is not just about innovation—it’s about impact. From delivering emergency meals and clean water to advancing financial inclusion and disaster relief, Ripple’s solutions are helping organizations achieve tangible results at unprecedented speed.
As Monica Long put it, this is “innovation meeting purpose.” The partnership between Ripple and the world’s top humanitarian organizations proves that blockchain is not only transforming financial markets—it’s transforming lives.
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