The legacy payment provider Western Union is seeking to transform itself into relevance again with a major overhaul of its system onto the blockchain. After announcing the launch of a dollar-backed stablecoin to allow its 100 million customers to send money internationally detached from local currency fluctuations and risks, the firm is now set to roll out a “stable card” for high-inflation economies.
Speaking at the recent UBS Global Technology and AI conference, the firm’s CFO said the new initiative builds on the company’s investor-day reveal that it is moving beyond traditional cross-border payments and into a multi-pillar digital asset roadmap.
Built on Solana
Another major part of the company’s digital asset strategy is its Digital Asset Network, or DAN, which links Western Union to four on-ramp and off-ramp providers. As we previously reported, Western Union’s payment settlement system will be built on the Solana blockchain, a high performance chain known for its speed, reliability, scalability and low transaction costs. Many analysts contend that Solana is “tailor-made for financial markets,” due to its speed and high transaction capacity. The total transactions executed on the Solana blockchain on a daily basis are about 14 billion, which incredibly exceeds the total transactions recorded in equities, bonds, commodities, and foreign exchange combined.
Ensuring its future by adapting
As for Western Union, the firm has explained that its shift to the blockchain “will provide users with access to digital assets, and will enable the ability to send, receive, spend and hold USDPT through a seamless user experience supported by the company’s global compliance and risk capacities”.
Adapting to the times, this legacy payments firm is ensuring its future – and preventing a fate similar to Kodak, Blockbuster Video and Nokia. As blockchain technology is transforming finance, there will be winners and losers. The winners will adapt, the losers won’t.