What Western Union's Sudden Interest In Stablecoins Means For Your Money Transfers

Western Union is evaluating how to enable customers to buy, sell, and store stablecoins using its global infrastructure, according to comments made by CEO Devin McGranahan in a Bloomberg interview on Monday.

The move would mark a significant step in the convergence between traditional money transfer firms and blockchain-based digital assets.

What Happened: "We are exploring other partnerships with people who want on-ramps and off-ramps in different parts of the world," McGranahan said, referencing crypto conversion pathways using Western Union's existing cash-in and cash-out capabilities.

The company is currently piloting stablecoin-linked settlement experiments in South America and Africa to move money more quickly and convert more easily into local currencies, according to McGranahan.

He noted that stablecoins present three major opportunities for Western Union: speeding up cross-border payments, converting to fiat in hard-to-access currencies, and offering users in inflation-prone countries a viable store of value.

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Western Union is also evaluating whether it can offer stablecoin holdings inside its digital wallet products, particularly in markets where fiat volatility and lack of banking access make crypto an attractive alternative.

"Stablecoins are an opportunity, not a threat," McGranahan said, marking a clear departure from earlier industry skepticism around digital assets.

The company's broader digital push includes a $1 billion revenue-generating digital business, with payout to accounts and wallets growing over 30% annually across multiple geographies.

McGranahan also noted that retail customers increasingly use card and bank products, and that digital and physical channels must be seen as complementary in a global remittance business.

While 40% of Western Union's business remains U.S.-based, McGranahan emphasized that recent growth has largely been driven by international markets such as Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, where demand for remittance and payment services continues to expand.

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