Ripple is a project to build a new kind of monetary system based on the trust present in our ordinary social and business relationships. You can start using Ripple by signing up for free at Villages, or checking out other implementations. Why would I want to use Ripple when I can use regular money? Two reasons:
1. Ripple is more efficient, and therefore cheaper for payments than regular money.
2. Ripple is more community-oriented than regular money.
The explanation will involve delving into what regular money is and how banks actually work. To understand why Ripple is more efficient than regular money, take into account that when we say “regular money”, we’re not talking about paper money, but rather bank account money, which accounts for over 95% of money out there. Banks charge fees to lend and take care of this money. Think of all the people who work directly and indirectly for the banking industry. Someone has to pay all these people’s salaries, not to mention the profits that banks regularly rake in. Whether you are charged directly or not, you pay for bank fees because they are factored into the price of every item you purchase. How come Ripple doesn’t need to charge fees?
