VivoPower International’s electric-vehicle arm, Tembo, will start accepting Ripple USD (RLUSD) for payments, a move that could change how the company handles cross-border deals, a press release confirmed.
According to the company, the stablecoin will be used to speed up payments and cut the fees usually tied to bank wires.
Tembo serves clients in mining, agriculture, military, construction and humanitarian work. Many of those customers are in developing regions where bank transfers are slow and costly.
Based on reports, RLUSD can move value near-instantly across borders and at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. That is the main reason VivoPower gave for the change.
Tembo builds electric utility vehicles designed for both on-road and tough off-road tasks. The fleet is aimed at jobs where reliability matters more than style.
Charging, financing, battery swaps and even microgrids are offered alongside the vehicles. Those services are now available to be paid for in RLUSD, which could make transactions simpler for local dealers and international buyers alike.
Ripple Partnerships And Market Moves$VVPR – VivoPower’s
Tembo to Accept Ripple USD (RLUSD) Stablecoin for Payments
1.1% PreM/ $5.02 pic.twitter.com/Z6rUJ9G3nz
— John Zidar aka/ Stock Wizard (@JohnZidar) September 8, 2025
Reports have disclosed that RLUSD’s market capitalization rose roughly 10-fold since January. Ripple has been extending RLUSD’s reach through tie-ups with firms such as Chipper Cash, Yellow Card and VARL, and it recently rolled RLUSD into the Horizon RWA market owned by Aave.
Those moves are being watched closely by firms that handle cross-border trade. Adoption in Africa, parts of Southeast-Asia and the Middle East is reported to be growing.
VivoPower has been clear that this is more than a single payment option. The company said it is shaping itself into what it calls an XRP-focused digital asset enterprise.
Holdings in XRP and equity in Ripple Labs are being added to the corporate portfolio. Some of those assets are being held for treasury purposes.
Other parts are planned to support decentralized finance infrastructure and real-world blockchain use cases connected to Tembo’s business.
Implications For Treasury, Liquidity And Local MarketsMarket observers have pointed to links with institutional sponsors like Doppler Finance, suggesting RLUSD could play roles beyond payments — for liquidity management and corporate treasury planning.
If that happens, the stablecoin may be used as a bridge between fiat rails and DeFi tools in places where traditional banking is weak.
Vendors and partners in regions where Tembo operates could see faster settlements and fewer conversion fees.
Featured image from Westend61/Getty Images, chart from TradingView
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