Western Union has unveiled plans to introduce a new “stable card” to protect customers in high-inflation economies as part of its stablecoin strategy.
Speaking at the UBS Global Technology and AI conference, Chief Financial Officer Matthew Cagwin he said the initiative follows the company’s investor day that revealed it is moving beyond traditional cross-border payments to a multi-pillar digital asset plan.
Cagwin pointed to Argentina, where annual inflation has recently reached 250-300%, noting that remittances can lose almost half their value in a month. “Imagine a world where your family in the US sends you home $500, but by the time you spend it in the next month, it’s only worth $300,” he said.
“We see a good benefit for our stable card there, which is augmenting our prepaid card that we have here in the US today,” he added.
Related: Crypto Biz: The race for corporate stablecoins heats up with Citi and Western Union in the lead
Western Union to issue the coin
Cagwin also revealed Western Union’s intention to issue its own coin. He said the company believes its distribution footprint in 200 countries gives it a natural advantage, especially in emerging markets where remittances account for a significant share of GDP.
“We think we can create a market for our coin in those markets. And we wanted to be able to control the economy, control the compliance and control the overall distribution, and we think we can expand that further,” he said.
Another important part of the company’s digital asset strategy is its Digital Asset Network, or DAN, which connects Western Union with four on-ramp and off-ramp service providers. The platform is expected to become active in the first half of 2025.
Related: Money giant Western Union is piloting stablecoin-based transfers
Western Union chooses Solana as its stablecoin
As reported by Cointelegrpah, Western Union has confirmed that its upcoming stablecoin settlement system will be built on the Solana (SOL) blockchain. The system will focus on the US Dollar Payment Token (USDPT) and a new digital asset network developed with Anchorage Digital Bank. USDPT is expected to launch in the first half of 2026, with distribution through partner exchanges.
Western Union has also filed for a trademark for “WUUSD,” signaling plans for a suite of crypto services, including a wallet, trading features and stablecoin payment processing. The application has been accepted but has not yet been assigned to an examiner.
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