Western Union Joins The Stablecoin Race — But Visa, Ripple, And PayPal Already Have A Head Start

• Western Union debuted its USD-backed stablecoin USDPT using Fireblocks technology to streamline global settlements, although Visa and PayPal have already expanded stablecoin payment rails.
• Visa has expanded its stablecoin settlement network across blockchains and nations, while PayPal's low-cost “Pay with Crypto” offering is upsetting cross-border costs.
• With its On-Demand Liquidity network processing large quantities, Ripple dominates blockchain payments, but regulatory clearances and law claims need verification.

Western Union (WU) announced on Monday that it has selected Fireblocks to power its new stablecoin backed by the U.S. dollar, USDPT, which the 173-year-old money transfer company plans to use to settle transactions with agents around the world. Western Union is the latest legacy financial player to announce stablecoin rails, but it comes as rivals like Visa (V), PayPal (PYPL) and Ripple (XRP) have already scaled up substantially. 

USDPT’s infrastructure is built on Fireblocks' custody platform, Dynamic’s embedded wallet, and TRES’ financial tools, which Fireblocks recently acquired. Western Union said the stablecoin will allow customers in markets with volatile local currencies or limited banking access to hold dollar-denominated value and choose when to convert. 

WU stock was down 0.02% in pre-market trading. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around WU dropped to the ‘bearish’ from a ‘bullish’ zone, while chatter around it dropped to ‘low’ from ‘high’ levels over the past day. 

According to Malcolm Clarke, Western Union's Global Head of Digital Assets, stablecoins will serve as the foundation for the company's next-generation settlement and customer services in a developing digital environment. "It puts a programmable dollar into our vast ecosystem and provides Western Union a platform from where we can continue to deliver customer utility and value. Working with Fireblocks, Dynamic, and TRES provide a key part of our infrastructure, enabling us to operationalize safely and securely at scale from day one,” he said.

Visa And PayPal’s Entry

The debut, however, comes as the stablecoin payments have become significantly more competitive. Visa entered the piloting of its first stablecoin back in 2021, enabling issuers and acquirers to settle transactions on blockchain networks rather than traditional banking rails, and has achieved an annualized run rate of $7 billion, up 50% from the previous quarter. The initiative now covers nine blockchain networks and is backed by over 130 stablecoin-linked card systems in 50 countries. 

Moreover, PayPal has also put pressure on conventional transfer costs. The Pay with Crypto service charges 0.99% every transaction, which is around 90% less than regular international credit card rates. 

Ripple Remains Leader

However, the most notable of them all, Ripple, a trailblazer in crypto-based cross-border payments, has leveraged years of regulatory disputes to forge an increasingly strong position. Ripple's On-Demand Liquidity service will process $1.3 trillion in quarterly volume by Q2 2025, with more than 300 financial institutions across 45 countries participating. 

The passage of the GENIUS Act provided institutions with the legal clarity they needed to adopt Ripple's payment infrastructure, while Ripple National Trust Bank received conditional OCC approval late last year, marking another step toward direct integration with the traditional financial system. 

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