Key Notes
- Western Union said it will allow customers to buy and sell stablecoins directly through its platform.
- Western Union is pivoting to stablecoins to enhance cross-border speed, lower costs, and stay competitive in the evolving fintech space.
- McGranahan highlighted stablecoins as a means to provide customers with a stable store of value, seamless fiat conversion, etc.
With the passing of the GENIUS Act and other landmark crypto bills last week, cross-border payments giant Western Union said it’s bullish about the upcoming growth in the stablecoin market.
During an interview with Bloomberg, company CEO Devin McGranahan, said that they are preparing to integrate stablecoins into their global payment systems.
McGranahan also disclosed that the company is exploring partnerships to enable customers to buy and sell stablecoins directly through its platform. In the interview with Bloomberg, the Western Union CEO said:
“Stablecoin is just one more opportunity to innovate…We are also exploring other partnerships with people who want on ramps and off ramps in different parts of the world and how we could enable Western Union’s funds in and funds out to enable people to purchase and sell stablecoins.”
As per reports, the company is already implementing new settlement processes across Africa and South America. McGranahan said that their ultimate goal is to make cross-border payments and local currency conversions faster.
Stablecoins Offer a Unique Opportunity, Says Western Union CEO
The Western Union executive outlined three major opportunities for the company:
- Offering customers a stable store of value
- Enabling the conversion of stablecoins to fiat currencies
- Accelerating cross-border money transfers.
“What we see is stablecoin really as an opportunity, not as a threat,” he added.
As legacy remittance and cross-border payment firms face pressure on revenue growth amid rising stablecoin adoption, this pivot seems obvious.
Apart from remittance players like Western Union, even traditional banking institutions like JPMorgan , Citibank, etc. have shown willingness to adopt the stablecoin ecosystem.
Recent quarterly reports highlight a challenging outlook for Western Union, with revenues slipping in the face of intensifying competition.
Western Union reported a 6% drop in first-quarter revenue to $984 million and is now rolling out new strategies to revive its business and boost growth.
Dollar-denominated cryptocurrencies are gaining a competitive edge thanks to their speed, low cost, and broad accessibility. BVNK co-founder and managing director Chris Harmse echoed this perspective in a recent LinkedIn post.
According to Harmse, stablecoins offer long-term cost benefits driven by increasing liquidity, narrower spreads, and more efficient transaction routing.
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