# Western Union, moving over $100 billion a year, launches Stablecard in 37 markets Stabledash Live, a Stabledash show. Aug 24, 2026. Malcolm Clarke. https://live.stabledash.com/shows/the-live-show/episodes/western-union-stablecard-is-live-37-markets-today-60-on-the-6EgtghfA66Q Western Union's fourth stablecoin launch in quick succession turns a money transfer into a dollar balance on a Visa card, aimed at receivers without bank access. Western Union, which moves more than $100 billion a year for 100 million-plus customers through roughly 400,000 retail locations, has launched Stablecard. The card went live on August 4, 2026 across 37 markets including Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines, with a target of 60 or more by year end, according to Malcolm Clarke, the company's Global Head of Digital Assets. ## Fourth launch in a row Clarke says Stablecard is "the fourth launch in really quick succession" for Western Union. It started with the stablecoin, the U.S. Dollar Payment Token or USDPT, announced in October last year, with work starting in November and the coin arriving in April. A Digital Asset Network followed, where partners with crypto wallets and exchanges, including Rain, started going live. USDPT is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank N.A. and runs on Solana. Clarke calls the card his favorite of the four launches. ## From MTCN to Visa Clarke describes how it works. When a sender sends money, the receiver gets an MTCN notification by phone or email that now carries a link to download the card instead of going to a store. Western Union converts the funds into USDPT in the background, and the balance sits as a dollar-denominated card that can be spent instantly wherever Visa is accepted. ## Built for the unbanked Rain built the app, the wallet and the card, and Clarke credits picking the right partner and setting the strategy. He says some Western Union receivers today are unbanked and "don't have access to a digital capability to go online and spend," and that Rain gave the company a way to put US dollar value on a card for them. ## What comes next Clarke says users will be able to reload the card through exchanges and, eventually, agent locations, turning local currency back into US dollars to hold. He expects loyalty and rewards for holding dollars to arrive later this year. The card brings the stablecoin, the partner network and the agent footprint of Western Union together in one consumer product. How far it reaches depends on the growth from 37 markets to the 60 or more Clarke is targeting, and on the reload and rewards features he says come later this year. ## Key takeaways 1. Stablecard went live on August 4, 2026 across 37 markets, and Western Union is targeting 60 or more by year end. 2. The card holds U.S. Dollar Payment Token, issued by Anchorage Digital Bank N.A. on Solana, and can be spent wherever Visa is accepted. 3. Malcolm Clarke says the product is built for unbanked and underbanked receivers who lack a digital way to spend, with Rain building the app, wallet and card. ## Chapters - 0:00 Stablecard is the fourth launch in Western Union's stablecoin push - 1:42 Rain partnership built to serve receivers without bank access - 4:16 MTCN notifications now link straight to a dollar Stablecard - 7:11 Utility and reliable access matter more than crypto yield - 10:03 Card targets off-hours receivers and people new to digital finance - 12:33 Western Union sees its brand trust, not neobank rivalry, as key ## Transcript **Malcolm Clarke** (0:00) Malcolm, good to see you again. Big day. You, guys. How's it going? Yes. Always. Always a big day here. Always. Always a big day. Thanks for the day. It's traditionally touching us. We're rolling like dark. I think it's the the dark colors now. It's good. **Zach Fowler** (0:15) Yeah. No. You you're you're right on brand, especially for for the for the last minute edition. Because I was just telling Drew, we we've kind of talked about this day, it feels like a few times in the past year. I mean, what does it feel like to... Does this feel like your baby's entering the world? Like, your your kid is finally here? **Malcolm Clarke** (0:35) It does. Like, I mean, it's crazy because we've launched... This is the fourth launch in really quick succession around this journey. So, you know, we started with the stable coin USDT. You know, considering we started... We announced this in October last year. We really dug into it starting November. Coin came, you know, April. Fast forward to that is our agent wallets, which is more of an internal treasury bridge thing that we we didn't really announce so much, but we have agents that are now liquid moving, you know, prefunding and funding with the coin. But then, you know, the digital asset network, which is the ability for our, you know, partners who have crypto wallets, you know, exchanges, companies like Rane, Crossman, Alphabay, and many more. They started going live in that network. And then this is kind of the cherry on top a little bit. This is our consumer proposition, which we're all about. And, you know, really, how do we bring something so those consumers that simple and, you know, the stable card is is really that piece with Reign that this is one of the most exciting of the four for sure. They all have, you know, little children in the way, but you have to have your behavior. So this is my favor. **Drew Rogers** (1:42) Tell us a little bit about how the relationship with Range started. I know we've covered this, like, kind of throughout the journey. You had a longer conversation with Zach around what Western Union is doing in the space, your role specifically there. We met you in San Francisco with a very stable conference. I think when a lot of this was been getting finalized, bumped into you. It's funny. We... Mexico City. **Malcolm Clarke** (2:07) Bring us in a little bit so, like, what it takes to get something like this going. So, look, I think the RAIN team have been incredibly awesome, and I think you're gonna talk to some of them later on. And I hope they say the same about Western Union. But... Yeah. So getting this vibe has been... It's been a journey. So, you know, Western Union is a large public company. We have lots of different things going on. For us, you know, picking the correct, you know, partner like Grain, really setting out the strategy of what we wanna do. So importantly, the card... You know, the SABL card isn't just about, hey. How do we get USDPT and get a, you know, get a date in the in the diary and launch something that we can, you know, put a couple of announcements around. It's really about solving some of the problems of rain have been right over this whole journey. So for us, the loading of the card and bringing crypto to a fiat transaction is still pretty, pretty difficult for the average user. I guess, still very crypto native. You're going to an exchange and sending wallet to wallet. The Western Union approach has been very different that says, hey. We have receivers today that are unbanked or no banked or not banked. They don't have access to a digital capability to go online and spend. So RAIN have given us that ability to put a US denominated value in that card so it helps with currency inflation. It helps with the things they see in market, and then actually spend it very, very quickly. So that... Solving that problem was really the key start of this, not a, hey. How do we do something in crypto? How do we build a digital asset? How do we think about, you know, a digital asset? It was, you know, what are the customers facing globally? In The US, we're quiet... We're kinda insulated. You know, we have US dollars, which are nice and strong. We go traveling, people accept dollars in cash. Globally, that's not the case. So, you know, how how do you put those US dollars in people's hands, why they wanna hold them, and then really allow them to spend it in local currency as opposed to, you know, today, we send them. They go to a store. They pick it up, which is really helpful. Now they've got this digital movement with. So it... It's interesting. The problems that our users see and how we solve them is very different than potentially how we look at it in The US. **Zach Fowler** (4:16) Yeah. Well, I'm kind of... I'm thinking through like this life cycle that we've seen of the the neo banks, the other stable point cards out there. Like you said, if you're already digitally native, you move your money from whatever other digital bank account you have to your neobank card. But you're saying that there's a very different approach because you've taken the steps forward to build up Dan, the digital asset network. You have all these agents that may use USDPT to move the funds, but now you actually have these, like, and when we say agents, I know we had to break this down for those who don't know, it's literal people are the agents at these, you know, Western Union column. I don't know if outpost maybe the **Malcolm Clarke** (4:56) Well, can help. Create... **Zach Fowler** (4:59) The the vision is now, somebody can go into all of these these outposts with cash, and the best place to go from cash to digital dollars now is into the Western Union app. I don't know if there's a name for it with the... And with the the stable card. So is there something we're missing in that... Yeah. I lifecycle? **Malcolm Clarke** (5:19) Yeah. So a little bit. I think the side that you're missing is really how we perform and undertake most of our business. So the key today is if I'm sending you money, you get what's called an MTCN number. So that that MTCN number is a... It's your ticket to go into the Western Union stores, and then you exchange that ticket for cash. So it's a very cash based operation in a lot of countries because they don't have the digital footprints that we would... You know, the neobanks and the things that we would necessarily, you know, class and and rely on today. So what we're doing, which is very different that others can't do any... Know, the first globally is as a sender, when I send you that money, you get that MCCN, which is a notification either on your phone or an email. There is now a link that says, hey. You don't have to go to the store. You can actually download the stable card. We will change that into USDPT in the background for you, and that now sits as dollars denominated stable card that you can instantly spend wherever you see Visa. So, you know, we're really using the UXDPT as the mechanism, the RAIN infrastructure as the scale, and then really solving for that. Hey. You don't have banked or you're unbanked. You now have physical and, you know, a digital card in your wallet that you can spend instantly. Well, and then you you mentioned the agency agents can take this as well. So, you know, they're also customers. And then loading that card, there are a couple ways to do that. So, you know, you can reload it through the exchanges. You can go to SCC. Eventually, you can walk into the less than you need to install later this year. You know, there's there's multiple ways to then change your local dollars back into US dollars and hold on the card. Then you're, like, everything, earning loyalty, that all comes, you know, later this year. So when you hold those dollars, we'll give you benefit for holding them and so on and so forth. So, you know, that... That's really, you know, the target there. **Zach Fowler** (7:11) You kinda answered my next question. I was like, what... So what comes next? You know, the... This this seem to be the end of the... This can't be the end of the road now, especially given RAIN's acquisitions. Again, I think writing is kind of on the wall, I think, not just for even Western Union, but even anybody that is using RAIN. I mean, again, when we think about like, what are the motes? What keeps users sicky? It is. It's it's rewards. And I think the question is, how do you even think about like rewards and loyalty? I think we're seeing this big shift in the market away from just like the pure cash back games. Like, what do you think will keep people coming back to using the Western Union stable card over and over again and be that top of wallet solution? **Malcolm Clarke** (7:55) Yes. I think for us, we're we're super lucky. Know, like, I'm super lucky that I have... I already have a set of users. Like, I have tens of millions of users globally that use Western Union, you know, consistently enhanced on me. So coming back to us comes down to utility, ease of use, access to to that money. So if you think about our biggest our biggest turn off for customers is going to be, hey. The money I sent didn't or I couldn't get the money when I needed it or access was difficult because, again, a lot of our users are sending their earnings and what they've earned to loved ones or they're paying their funds bill. So really, that's the side of it. The second bit that connects to this, which is really quite key, is what is the next step in that financial journey for many people? So it's earning royalty. It's what I do when I take the money. But then bigger than that, it's like, you know, is there access to your credit? Is there access to, know, being able to pay your bills? But in a way, like, all of those things become very important. It's that how do you live your life, you know, in your journey? What are the things we're going to unlock? So that's really where our road map starts. But I think, you know, the earning yield on coins and those things, that's very crypto native. Like, we, you know, we look at six and a 9% earning for holding the coin for a couple of days, you know, getting the exchange, you know, $1,000 of coin to do something, you know, type of promos that are all great for the crypto native guys and girls. I think over time, you know, our users become mad as well potentially, but my users are not that today. They really just want... You know, they want instant access. They wanna be able to live with them and get... They want to be served in a way that is, you know, finite. They know when I've sent you money, I need to know you got it. Like, when I hit that send, you get it instantly. Do what you do. So I think that that keeps us sticky. So our roadmap is, you know, one. We have we already have issuing banks globally. We have wallets that we're going to move this into. You know, there's lots of lots of great work to continue doing. Like, unfortunately, my road map goes... That's gonna keep going. It is more more and more coming. We... I'm just looking at the... **Drew Rogers** (10:03) That's all we had. You doing? Okay. We're in USDPT. I love it. I love... I know. I know this is a... Yeah. We also... We can hit you with a a USDPT cannon. So tell tell us a little bit as we... I know this was kind of a quick in and out. Malcolm, thank you for doing this. And and again, congrats on a big day, a big launch. I wanna just double down. And you said this right when you when you first hopped on, just like the the impact of this for maybe not a... An American crypto native, you know, banked user, but the impact that this has for other users around the world. Like, who do... When you see a launch like this, **Malcolm Clarke** (10:43) what is the persona that you're really building for here? And why is this so impactful to that person? So, look, this is this is a a great question. And, you know, remembering we we exist in hundreds of of of of markets. So we'll pick on 1%. So, you know, our agents are incredibly important to us as an organization. And, you know, they provide that access to cash and funding that our customers rely on, but they're not always available. So, you know, the persona is when you get that MTCN number and it's, you know, pick a time. 9PM on a Saturday night and needed it urgently or, you know, that's when it arrived from your loved one. Those agents might not be available. So then you have a waiting period to go to store, or you have a waiting period you have to travel to the store. That's the persona you're aiming at, to say, look, you can get this instantly on the card, and you can spend instantly. The second part of our persona today, some of those users are not banks. Like, they don't have an account. They don't have, you know, what we call web three access. They don't have that digital ability to go online and spend and do things. So for those users, having that first access to that card and that digital capability of online banking, again, quite foreign to many people in The US, this could be and will be their first opportunity. So that's kinda how we look at it. And, you know, the 37 markets instantly scaling upwards to 60 or more, that's where you're gonna see the biggest benefit. That... Well, they're going to see that there's a way for them to really stop joining the digital native, not crypto native, but digital native landscape and having that first use of that capability. So that's really the persona we look at, and that's really what... How we think about it as an organization. **Zach Fowler** (12:33) Yeah. It's amazing. I really think... I really wonder, like, how many how many people, especially in emerging markets right now, you know, I... Oh, I have that friend, you know, that's used that neobank, but but I've always been a little hesitant, know, the new technology, and then they see a product like this from a brand they know and trust. Again, similar yet different personas, so excited to see what the next, you know, six months to a year has in has in store for how many people come on board, and I'm sure we'll see... I'll see a ton of Twitter posts popping up. Here's how what USDPT usage has grown on on Solana, you know, and you see all the charts with rain usage on Dune. So I'm so sure we'll see... I guess here's a question for you. Should people think about Western Union and this table card in the same way that they may think about CAST or another neobank? Or is this a completely separate category in of itself because of the persona you think that you're, you know, that you're going after? **Malcolm Clarke** (13:29) I think that there's there's kind of multiple lenses and, you know, things that you want. So Western Union is a traditional money remittance company, but now we have the first full stack digital asset, you know, infrastructure. So you're looking at it and saying, well, are you now a digital asset company? Are you a crypto company in remittance? I think, you know, for us, it's about giving utility to our customers. So, you know, whether we're a cast or you see us as read up pay or pick somebody else, it's it's not really that relevant. What's relevant is if the utility serves and solves what we spoke about, then users are gonna use it, and it's just another part of our capability to get, you know, the funds that are required in a payment process or a remitent process to that end user where they can leverage that. Now there's benefits for us, there's benefits for them, and, you know, that... That's kind of part and parcel of how... Why you create products and services. So, you know, do I see us as a castle competing more? You know, we have a very different space. And I think the key one you head on with the when Right. Bumped into each other in Mexico City. It's incredible in places like Latin America and places like Africa, the place of the world. You know? And when you say it's Western Union, they all have stories about how they've grown up with Western Union. Like, you know, at kids, they would get gifts from families through Western Union and get those pesos and go and spend it. Like, it's it's actually really nice to hear stories of, I grew up with Western Union. I worked for Western Union for a period of times. I grew up with the brand. And they're always, like, overwhelmingly positive. Like, I got money from this relative to do that. You know, this relative helped pay for this. And it's kind of interesting, and it's really about that. You know, how do you keep that generational journey going into the next technology space of, you know, it's still the same thing. I got something from somebody to do something. The technology is not relevant. Like, we send it quicker, faster, cheaper. You know, it arrives better. You can spend it easier. That's part and parcel for it, but it's really that, like, that end user and that what they get from it is really quite interesting. And, hopefully, it's the same for next generations. Like, we're a 175 years old. It'd be cool if this was doing it. It's been in a hundred and seventy five years. Like, that would be awesome. I mean, I'm long gone or maybe not. Who knows? **Drew Rogers** (15:53) Technology Yes. But the power of a brand is... I think the the world of, like, technology native or, like, crypto native folks can really underestimate the power of a brand. So 100% agree. And Malcolm, thanks for taking the time. Excited to continue following along. Yeah. It was good to catch up. Well Any any questions... Maybe maybe last question from us. Forge, we're meeting with Charles here at the end of the show, Moraine. What would you... Any questions that you'd want to... What what should we ask Charles when we have him on later? See, without any prep, any questions for Charles? I could throw him under a bus right now and be like Yeah. What do you wanna **Malcolm Clarke** (16:30) No. Like, I I think nothing's to their journey with Western Union, you know, what it's like working with a a large organization, like, because that's a 175 years old. I'm sure he's got some some incredible stories. We... We've been... You know, they've been a great partner. We've been a great partner to them, but as everything, it's been it's been fun in a really good way, like, not a negative way. So ask him his journey. I wanna watch and see his hands on, you know, what's his journey been like working with us. The universe is a crypto company. It's like they've started working with guys. You love it. That's perennial. And and, like, people internally are not gonna they're not gonna... Like, when they started, they start What? You're doing a what? So there's been some education both ways, I'd say. **Drew Rogers** (17:12) Awesome. Alright, man. Well, I will, yeah, keep chatting with We'll we'll be with him in a couple hours. Thanks, Malcolm. We'll see you soon. Okay. See Thank you. Thanks, Take care.