Money giant Western Union to pilot stablecoin-powered transfers

Financial services company Western Union is set to pilot a stablecoin-based settlement system to modernize its remittance operations for its more than its 150 million customers.

During Western Union’s third-quarter earnings call on Thursday, CEO Devin McGranahan said the pilot is “focused on leveraging onchain settlement rails to reduce dependency on legacy correspondent banking systems, shorten settlement windows, and improve capital efficiency.”

“We see significant opportunities for us to be able to move money faster with greater transparency and at lower cost without compromising compliance or customer trust.”

Western Union processes around 70 million transfers each quarter. Blockchain technology could offer significant advantages over traditional remittance rails and could benefit its customers located in more than 200 countries.

The remittance platform’s latest remarks on crypto come a little over three months after it first hinted at plans to integrate stablecoins for cross-border transfers.

McGranahan said Western Union initially refrained from crypto due to concerns around volatility, regulatory uncertainty and customer protection — however, passage of the GENIUS Act has changed that course.

The announcement also reflects the broader institutional adoption of stablecoins. This market recently surpassed $300 billion and is estimated to reach $2 trillion by 2028, according to the US Treasury Department’s April announcement.

Stablecoins could help those in high-inflation countries

Western Union said the stablecoin offering would give its customers more choice and control in how they manage and move their money — particularly those in inflation-torn countries.

“In many parts of the world, being able to hold a US dollar-denominated asset has real value as inflation and currency devaluation can rapidly erode an individual’s purchasing power. These innovations align closely with our broader strategy to modernize the movement of money.”

Western Union competitors have been making similar moves

Early Warning Services, the parent company of payments platform Zelle, said on Friday that stablecoins will be integrated into Zelle to facilitate cross-border transactions for money flowing to and from the United States.

Related: Rumble partners with Tether to add Bitcoin tips for content creators

Meanwhile, MoneyGram confirmed it would soon roll out its crypto app in Colombia, allowing locals to save in the Circle’s USDC (USDC) stablecoin and receive and transfer it overseas nearly instantly.

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