Western Union launches Stablecard to spend USDPT on Visa
Western Union introduced Stablecard, a Visa-branded wallet and card that holds USDPT, a Solana-based dollar stablecoin, in 37 markets and plans to expand to over 60 by year-end.
Western Union launched Stablecard, a Visa-branded digital wallet and card that lets users hold, receive, transfer and spend USDPT, a US dollar-backed stablecoin issued on the Solana blockchain. The service is live in 37 markets and the company plans to expand to more than 60 markets by the end of the year.
Stablecard was developed in partnership with Rain, a stablecoin infrastructure provider, and uses USDPT issued by Anchorage Digital Bank. Western Union introduced USDPT in May as part of its digital asset strategy; the token was designed to align with the GENIUS Act, the new U.S. federal framework for payment stablecoins.
Customers can receive Western Union money transfers directly into a USDPT wallet, send funds to compatible crypto wallets and exchanges that accept Solana-based tokens, and spend balances at merchants that accept Visa. The card can be added to Apple Pay and Google Pay for mobile payments.
Bybit added support for USDPT trading and transfers in June, expanding the token’s exchange connections and on-ramps and off-ramps for users.
Western Union describes the service as a way for remittance recipients and consumers in countries with volatile local currencies to hold dollar-pegged balances while using existing payment rails to spend.
A rival firm, MoneyGram, has launched MGUSD, a dollar-pegged stablecoin on the Stellar network that integrates with its app through a self-custodial wallet and allows users to hold dollar-denominated balances, send funds globally and convert to local currencies.
A Bank of Italy study found that stablecoin-based remittances did not consistently beat traditional channels on cost or speed. The researchers identified fiat on- and off-ramps-conversions between bank deposits, cash and digital assets-as the main sources of transaction costs and settlement delays.
Western Union plans to broaden Stablecard’s geographic reach and integrate the wallet and card with its existing remittance flows as it scales the product.
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