MoneyGram plans to launch a new stablecoin-based solution for cross-border finance in Colombia and then expand it to additional markets.
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The solution will be available to customers in Colombia in an upcoming version MoneyGram’s mobile app, for which a waitlist is now open, the company said in a Wednesday (Sept. 17) press release.
It uses a digital, U.S. dollar-backed stored value account that works with both traditional fiat currencies and stablecoins, according to the release. It allows users of the app to receive funds instantly into a USD balance, store them in stable USD, and cash out or spend them.
The solution is powered by Stellar’s blockchain and Crossmint’s wallet infrastructure and stablecoin payments platform, and the customer balances are held in Circle’s USDC stablecoin, per the release.
“This is where MoneyGram — and money itself — is headed,” MoneyGram CEO Anthony Soohoo said in the release. “We believe in a future where financial access is universal, and no one gets left behind. Built for global scale, this launch is the first step toward a world where every person, everywhere, has access to dollar stablecoins.”
PYMNTS reported in August that stablecoins are reshaping cross-border payments, offering instantly settled transactions, lower costs, programmable transfers and global accessibility.
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With these capabilities, stablecoins offer a technical alternative to traditional cross-border payments and their pain points, which include multi-day settlement times, high fees, limited transparency and heavy reliance on intermediaries.
MoneyGram said in May that it launched an application programming interface (API) designed to make it easy for developers to embed crypto on/off-ramp functionality.
Dubbed MoneyGram Ramps, the API can be used by wallets, exchanges and FinTech apps to enable compliant cash-to-crypto and crypto-to-cash integration through a single implementation.
“With this launch, MoneyGram is quickly becoming the connective tissue between traditional finance and the digital economy,” Soohoo said in a press release announcing the launch of MoneyGram Ramps.
In April, payment card and security solutions provider CompoSecure announced the integration of its Arculus Cold Storage Wallet with MoneyGram Access, saying this lets users convert physical cash to USDC stablecoins and withdraw cash at MoneyGram locations worldwide.
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