Western Union Plans to Cut Transfer Costs with USDPT

Western Union aims to reduce costs on international transfers through its own stablecoin USDPT. At the Merge Madrid conference, the company's head of digital assets, Malcolm Clark, explained that the new payment infrastructure will allow for a reduction in the amount of capital that needs to be pre-placed in correspondent bank accounts.

In traditional international transfers, the company maintains cash reserves in different countries to ensure payments to recipients. Some of these funds remain in accounts until payment orders are received. According to Clark, this model requires significant expenses to maintain liquidity.

"It's expensive because we have to place capital in correspondent bank accounts," he explained.

The use of USDPT should allow Western Union to move funds between participants in the payment network around the clock, without relying on banking settlement schedules. The company expects to reduce the need for pre-funding operations in this way. However, the actual amount of savings has not yet been disclosed.

The stablecoin USDPT was announced in October 2025 and launched on May 4, 2026. It is issued by the American Anchorage Digital Bank on the Solana network. The token is backed by dollar reserves and allows for exchange with US dollars at a 1:1 ratio.

How USDPT will be used by clients

Western Union is also developing infrastructure for exchanging digital assets for regular money. As part of the Digital Asset Network project, users of partner cryptocurrency platforms will be able to convert funds and receive cash through the company's branches.

Clark stated that the cash issuance network covers 160 markets. However, the availability of specific cryptocurrency operations depends on the country and connected services. Confirmation of the launch of all planned functions in each of these markets is not yet available.

A separate direction has been the collaboration with the payment company Rain and Visa. In August, the partners launched Stablecard – a digital wallet with a payment card that allows storing USDPT and making purchases. At the time of launch, the product was available in 37 markets, with further expansion planned in stages.

The development of such services is taking place against the backdrop of the GENIUS Act, an American law adopted in July 2025, which established a federal framework for the regulation of payment stablecoins.

Western Union is also considering the use of digital assets in settlements between AI agents. Clark believes that this requires pre-established authorities and real-time final settlement infrastructure. However, the company has not announced specific timelines for launching such solutions.