When you research Ripple XRP and Stellar XLM, you will come across a number of similarities. This is because as cryptocurrency projects, this pair have quite similar goals and objectives in mind. They both want to remain as top cryptocurrencies and they also want to transform the international payment sector, though, as you may know Ripple and Stellar as companies are going about this in very different ways. The two are rivals in a sense, but in many other ways they can actually compliment each other and work together. The international payment space is an interesting one, either way, no matter what happens, it can’t be a bad thing that Stellar and Ripple are both trying to transform this space, can it? The key thing you’ll read about is remittance and remittance payments. Until you know what a remittance payment is, a lot of what you reach about XRP and XLM might not actually make an awful lot of sense, so, here’s a brief definition as seen in Investopedia: “A remittance is funding that is sent or transferred to another party, usually one in another country. Remittances can be sent via a wire transfer, mail, draft, or check. Remittances can be used for any type of payment, including invoices. But the term is typically used to in reference to money sent to family members back in a person's home country.” Wait, so does this mean that simply sending money to a family member is a remittance payment? If so, why do Stellar and Ripple pay so much focus on transforming that?  Not exactly, there’s a little more to a remittance payment than just that: “Remittances have played an increasingly large role in the economies of small and developing countries. They are often used as a way to help raise the standard of living for people abroad and help combat global poverty. In fact, since the late 1990s, remittances have exceeded development aid, and in some cases make up a significant portion of a country's gross domestic product (GDP).” The space that is set to be transformed by the likes of Ripple and Stellar is far more political than just sending money to your family. Remittance payments help families and communities give back to their homes, helping to build profits in the area that can be used to improve the standard of living in that area. These payments are important and really do benefit from the speed and efficiency of blockchain technology.