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175-year-old payment giant has a strong message on stablecoins
On July 22, Western Union CEO Devin McGranahan announced that the payment giant, founded in 1851, is expanding its offerings to include stablecoins.
Far from looking at digital currencies as a threat, McGranahan said Western Union sees three major benefits: faster cross-border transfers, the ability to convert stablecoins into local fiat, especially in countries with currencies that are harder to reach, and providing stablecoins to users as a store for value in their volatile economy.
"We're already innovating," McGranahan said in an interview with Bloomberg. Pointing to conversion efforts taking place in South America and Africa, he said that Western Union is seeking partnerships related to on-ramps and off-ramps for the purchase and sale of stablecoins. He added:
The move coincides with the increasing importance of digital services to the company's business, believes McGranahan.
Next evolution
Digital fund transfers account for $1 billion of Western Union's revenue and are expanding more quickly than its traditional retail segment. Still, retail performance can't be measured only in terms of a cash-based business, McGranahan said.
With the recent passage of President Donald Trump's ‘the big, beautiful bill,' which increases access to finance, customers frequently fund transactions from bank accounts or cards, said the 55-year-old CEO. He added:
With 60% of business now international, Western Union sees future growth in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. "We've been adapting for 175 years," McGranahan said. "Stablecoins are just the next evolution."
This article has been published in TheStreet via Yahoo News.
