Western Union has unveiled plans to introduce a brand new “steady card” to guard customers in high-inflation economies as a part of its stablecoin technique.
Talking on the UBS International Expertise and AI convention, chief monetary officer Matthew Cagwin mentioned the initiative builds on the corporate’s investor-day reveal that it’s transferring past conventional cross-border funds and right into a multi-pillar digital asset roadmap.
Cagwin pointed to Argentina, the place annual inflation just lately hit 250–300%, noting that remittances can lose practically half their worth in a month. “Think about a world the place your loved ones within the US is sending you $500 house, however by the point you spend it within the subsequent month, it is solely price $300,” he mentioned.
“We are able to see a very good utility for our steady card there, which is an increment to our pay as you go card we have now immediately right here within the US,” he added.
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Western Union to difficulty a coin
Cagwin additionally revealed Western Union’s intention to difficulty its personal coin. He mentioned the corporate believes its distribution footprint throughout 200 international locations offers it a pure benefit, particularly in rising markets the place remittances kind a major share of GDP.
“We expect that we are able to make a marketplace for our coin in these markets. And we needed to have the ability to management the economics, management the compliance and management the general distribution, and we expect we are able to develop that past that,” he mentioned.
One other main a part of the corporate’s digital asset technique is its Digital Asset Community, or DAN, which hyperlinks Western Union to 4 on-ramp and off-ramp suppliers. The platform is predicted to go reside within the first half of 2025.
Associated: Cash large Western Union to pilot stablecoin-powered transfers
Western Union picks Solana for its stablecoin
As Cointelegrpah reported, Western Union has confirmed that its upcoming stablecoin settlement system will likely be constructed on the Solana (SOL) blockchain. The system will middle on the US Greenback Cost Token (USDPT) and a brand new Digital Asset Community developed with Anchorage Digital Financial institution. USDPT is slated to launch within the first half of 2026, with distribution by means of associate exchanges.
Western Union has additionally filed a trademark software for “WUUSD,” signaling plans for a set of crypto providers, together with a pockets, buying and selling options and stablecoin fee processing. The submitting has been accepted however not but assigned to an examiner.
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