Tembo, the electric vehicle (EV) division of VivoPower International, has announced it will now accept Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin for payments. This makes Tembo one of the first automakers to integrate a blockchain-based dollar token directly into its payment system.
This decision is driven by practical business needs. Many of Tembo’s clients in the mining, agriculture, and defense sectors operate internationally and face high fees and slow processing times with traditional cross-border transactions. By using RLUSD, Tembo aims to make these international settlements faster and cheaper.
The stablecoin has seen significant growth this year, with its market cap increasing tenfold since January. It has already gained traction in regions like Africa and the Middle East through partnerships with payment companies such as Chipper Cash and Yellow Card. Tembo’s adoption marks a new milestone for RLUSD as it expands beyond fintech and into industrial supply chains.
VivoPower has also expressed its ambition to become a publicly traded company centered on the XRP and Ripple ecosystem. Beyond payments, the company is building a treasury portfolio that includes XRP, equity in Ripple Labs, and plans for decentralized finance (DeFi) on the XRP Ledger.
The move is seen by industry experts as a sign of growing real-world adoption for the XRP Ledger. It also highlights the expanding utility of the RLUSD stablecoin, which is finding new roles in corporate treasury strategies and liquidity programs, in addition to its use in payments.
September 2025, Cryptoniteuae
