Western Union is preparing to roll out a dollar-backed stablecoin called USDPT next month as part of a wider push to speed up and lower the cost of cross-border settlement. The token will be launched on Solana and issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, pairing Solana’s high-throughput blockchain with Anchorage’s regulated custody and stablecoin infrastructure.
The company revealed the plan during its Q1 earnings call, saying USDPT is in its final stages and will initially be used for institutional settlement across Western Union’s global agent network rather than as a consumer-facing product. Early use cases are expected to focus on moving funds among customers, agents and treasury operations; consumer services would be expanded in later phases.
To support distribution, Western Union plans a Digital Asset Network that will partner with wallets and wallet providers to handle the “last mile” of transfers into users’ accounts. CEO Devin McGranahan said the firm wants to capture the commercial flows tied to stablecoins and anticipates millions of customers will convert crypto to local currency through its platform. The company also plans to introduce a USD Stable Card later this year, enabling users to hold and spend digital-dollar balances as a consumer-facing offering aimed at driving retail adoption.
The move underscores growing institutional interest in stablecoins to accelerate settlement times and reduce fees. It also raises regulatory considerations: the Bank for International Settlements has highlighted risks associated with dollar-denominated stablecoins, and regulators in the U.S. and Europe are rolling out frameworks to clarify rules for issuers and consumers.