I want to ask what arrangement do the financial firms have with Ripple? Do they buy and hold XRP to have it as a stake on the network or do they run Ripple nodes to verify transactions? I keep reading all the news about every bank joining Ripple but there are no clear details. Maybe they are only testing it with no formal arrangement.
The new partnerships find Ripple showcasing its reach and influence. New members include MUFG (Japan), BBVA (Spain), SEB (Sweden), Akbank, Yes Bank (India), Axis Bank (India), SBI Remit (Japan), Star One Credit Union (US), EZ Forex (US) and Cambridge FX (Canada).
In an interview, Ripple VP of product, Asheesh Birla explained the company is beginning to define its offerings in more collaborative terms. While its product allows for faster cross-border payments, Ripple is also creating a set of standards for banks to follow while using its underlying tech, he said.Read the full article http://www.coindesk.com/ripple-touts-blockchain-standards-push-10-new-banks-join-network/Well the first very well established use-case is to act as liquidity for world's forex movement.
I can go on a explain the whole lot here , or just point you to some really good articles that answer everything u asked. If after that you have any questions, feel free to ask. You got to do some homework by yourself right..
hope these links help :
This is from David Blair, who has been in Treasury for 25 years :
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ripple-vs-swift-payment-revolution-david-blairthis is from Chandan Maddanna, a VP in jp morgan :
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/international-banking-flocks-ripple-chandan-maddanna ( this article in particular compares and lists exact use-cases of XRP, ETH and BTC at the end , scroll down )
to put it shortly, before internet , networks had to connect to each other, trust each other, work with each other, make their networks "customised" for each other. AFTER internet, all they have to worry about is connecting to internet and make sure their data is a standard internet packet.
like so, after ripple, All banks have to worry about is connecting to RCL and having XRP, and by doing so they can forget worrying about partnering with 100 other organizations, trusting them, holding reserves at their branches, etc etc
Plain , simple whats not to understand ? it is called Network of Value, like Internet is Network of Information. some have dubbed it as IOV ( internet of value )
and the gentleman above is a troller i think. XRP usecase is evry well established and SBI Group japan is even in preparation to LIST and USE XRP for their transfers locally and globally
www.sbigroup.co.jp/english/investors/disclosure/presentation/pdf/170301presentations.pdf this is their shareholder presentation, you can search for ripple and XRP and see specific slides.
good luck.