The news: Western Union will launch a stablecoin to power crypto remittances in the first half of 2026, per a press release.

The stablecoin will be called the U.S. Dollar Payment Token (USDPT) and will run on Solana’s Bitcoin infrastructure.

Why this matters: Crypto has been hailed as a faster and cheaper method for transferring money internationally.

Western Union is demonstrating its willingness to adapt to the new technology to compete with rival remittance players:

• Zelle plans to launch cross-border payments powered by stablecoins.
• SoFi reintroduced self-serve remittances powered by blockchain.
• PayPal lets Xoom users send money via PYUSD.
• And MoneyGram debuted a new mobile app to facilitate remittances via stablecoin.

Our take: Western Union’s pivot to crypto follows efforts to increase retail locations as a part of its Evolve 2025 strategy, which also seeks to boost business by cross-selling products in-store.

As more remittance players pivot toward crypto, they face a bind of a customer base that is more likely to trust in-store cash transactions than novel digital methods, which makes a strong retail presence necessary for success. Targeted advertising campaigns educating remittance senders about the benefits of digital transfers with incentives for new customers could help convert more users to crypto.