Bank of America exec discusses the bank’s partnership with Ripple

• Previously, BofA officials have been hesitant to acknowledge whether the bank had an ongoing partnership with Ripple, or not.
• The BofA exec, Julie Harris, said that the bank aims to stay up-to-date with the rapid changes in the world of fintech.

In a recent Treasury Insights podcast, Julie Harris - the head of global banking at Bank of America (BofA) - affirmed the bank’s partnership with Ripple, the details of which have been unclear for many years. When speaking about what will happen in the banking world over the next ten years, Harris said that BofA’s first goal is to ensure its customers can get things done from anywhere, at any time. Secondly, it aims to integrate new solutions and keep pace with the rapid changes in the world of fintech.

 She said:

Client experience, and that combination of the high touch and high tech, is really important in a big area of focus for us. So not just the capability but the actual experience and ability to get things done anytime, anywhere because we are an around-the-clock society.

And the second [goal] is the ability to integrate. And Derrick touched on this a lot. It’s not about our platform and our capabilities. It’s about you as a client and the infrastructure you have and the ability for us to integrate, whether that’s with platforms and capabilities that we built or partnerships that we have with the likes of Ripple or Swift. These are fintechs that we’re partnering with. They’ve come through all of our rigor of legal and compliance, and we’re able to leverage our banking as a platform to deliver that to you.

Previously, BofA officials have been hesitant to acknowledge whether the bank had an ongoing partnership with Ripple, or not.