Western Union controls Stablecoin Remittance Settlements in selected corridors in South America and Africa, part of a closed-lust test announced By CEO Devin Mcgranahan during interviews on July 22.
The company also evaluates the development of a consumer-oriented crypto wallet and signals broader ambitions to integrate blockchain-based infrastructure into its global money transfer activities.
The controlled roll-out of the transfer provider reflects on shifting priorities, because traditional financial intermediaries are confronted with the increasing pressure of stablecoin-native solutions that offer faster, cheaper transfers. Western Union does not see the crypto rails as a competitive threat, but as a mechanism for improving the conversion of the foreign exchange, the settlement times and custody of the ability in difficult to reach markets, according to Mcgranahan.
The pilots come in the midst of new legislative clarity in the United States. De Genius ACT, signed on July 18, Misters 1: 1 Fiat support and monthly certificates for Dollar-Pegged Stablecoins and provides issues of issues access to Federal Reserve Master Accounts, provided they keep an FDIC insurance policy. The move accelerates all the acceptance of the Stablecoin in traditional payment providers, many of whom had previously abandoned chains integrations due to legal ambiguity.
Global transfers reached an estimated $ 685 billion in 2024, per World Bank DataWith countries with low and middle income that capture most of the inflow. However, the costs of these transactions remain stubbornly high. The average costs for sending $ 200 across borders through traditional cash networks was 6.6% in the first quarter of 2024, more than double the goal of 3 percent in the sustainable development goals of the United Nations.
The position of the Western Union in that ecosystem has come under pressure. Internal data to show That 28% of his transactions for consumer money was digital from the first quarter of 2025, and the use of mobile apps fell 22% year after year. As transferring options at the chain become more accessible, users shift to platforms that settle transfers in a few minutes with sub-1% reimbursements, such as those of Moneygram Stellar based USDC solution.
Mcgranahan identified three use cases for stablecoins in the route map of the Western Union: real-time regulation with local partners, improved FX prices in corridors with low liquidity and optional customer guardianship for cross-border transfers. Although details remain scarce, the company’s emphasis indicates the testing on pilot scale instead of wholesaler conversion on a measured approach.
How will Western Union Stablecoins take over?
Western Union has not yet announced which stablecoins or block chains are in use, nor has it clarified whether the wallet product that is taken into consideration would be owned or partner. However, the competitive pressure is building. PayPal has integrated his Pyusd Stablecoin into international payout rails, and Moneygram already offers crypto-off disaster in more than 180 countries. In the meantime, neo-banks such as Revolut and even Tradfi banks are actively looking for licenses to spend their own American dollar-Peg Inkens, according to reports.
Stablecoins itself have grown considerably in terms of institutional footprint. The aggregated value of reserves with Treasury-Bill-supported reserves about leading Stablecoins is now estimated at more than $ 150 billion And could reach $ 2 trillion under scenarios with high adoptions by 2028. With Circle’s new payment network banks and providers of payment services and Tether hold more T-Bills than most countries, established companies are confronted with increasing stimuli to participate in crypto-native settlements instead of compromising against them.
The strategy of the Western Union also corresponds to geopolitical movements. The proposal of the Trump administration to impose a transfer tax on American outgoing transfers, aimed at reducing cross-border capital flight, could unintentionally stimulate the adoption of Stablecoin by pushing consumers into cheaper tax-neutral digital alternatives. Critics claim that such policy shifts will strengthen the demand for decentralized tools instead of curbing them.
Pilot and American relevance
Although the company has not confirmed the time lines for a public rollout, McGanahan hinted to the gang -specific statistics as important indicators of success. These include FX spread reduction, time-to-cash statistics and the per-transaction economy compared to legacy settlement via the Wunet infrastructure. Any possible expansion of the program or the wallet can be detailed in the next win call from Western Union, planned for October 2025.
The pilots reflect a wider transition from the industry, because payment giants rather hesitate to embrace blockchain, now start testing tools in live environments. Whether Western Union will look for a bank charter to publish his own Stablecoin or rely on existing emptents instead, will remain unsolved.
However, Western Union can be more comparable to Tether than Stablecoins established in the US. Both generate most of their volume outside the United States, aimed at people in emerging market corridors who turn to dollar-linked transfers because local bank rails or physical USD are difficult to access.
In fact, the last 10-k of Western Union shows that about 65 % of the turnover from 2023 ($ 2.85 billion of US $ 4.36 billion) was earned abroad, while market tracker data indicate that American exchanges see only ~ $ 3 billion of the more than USDSDSDSD-Handels has been $ 30 billion has Volume, offshore volume, offshore volume, offshore volume, offshore volume, offshore volume, offshore volume, offshore volume, offshore volume, offshore volume, offshore volume, offe binance, out binx and bybit.
