AstroPay, a payment services provider for companies like Facebook and Disney in Latin America, announced today the launch of Ripple LatAm, a new business that aspires to make international payments faster and easier by using the internet protocol known as Ripple.

Ripple LatAm, run by founder [person]Andres Bzurovski[/person], will help open the door for businesses across the globe to use Ripple for sending money — instantly and in their local currencies — to businesses and individuals in its coverage area.

If you’re unfamiliar, the Ripple protocol lets individuals or businesses send any type of currency across its network instantly. Like an email network, which allows you to send an email from Gmail to a Yahoo address, the Ripple network enables its users to store money in a wallet in their local currency then send it to someone else who receives it in whatever currency they prefer.

To make it easier to move money on Ripple…