Global remittance giant Western Union is preparing to roll out a so-called “stable card” aimed at consumers in markets with high inflation, the firm’s Executive VP and CFO, Matthew Cagwin, said at the UBS Global Technology and AI Conference on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
According to a transcript published by Seeking Alpha, Cagwin described the product as part of the payments company’s broader stablecoin strategy.
Cagwin said the stable card would be an “increment” to the company’s existing U.S. prepaid card, but with a “a much stickier benefit in a country where there’s high inflation.” He pointed to Argentina in particular — where he said inflation was 250-300% last year — as an example of where a dollar-denominated card could help recipients preserve value.
“So imagine a world where your family in the U.S. is sending you $500 home, but by the time you spend it in the next month, it’s only worth $300. So we can see a good utility for our stable card there, which is an increment to our prepaid card we have today here in the U.S.,” Cagwin said.
Western Union Joins Stablecoin Space
While the Western Union CFO didn’t offer further details, the card is likely connected to the company’s partnership with Rain, the stablecoin payments infrastructure firm that issues Visa cards linked to stablecoins.
Rain said in November that the collaboration would allow users to “convert stablecoins held in Rain-powered wallets into local cash payouts at participating Western Union locations.”
The card is part of Western Union’s broader effort to move more of its money flows on-chain. In late October, the company announced it is launching U.S. Dollar Payment Token (USDPT), a Solana-based stablecoin issued by crypto-focused U.S. bank, Anchorage Digital. The stablecoin is expected to launch in the first half of 2026.
Cagwin said at the UBS event this week that the company has already partnered with four providers for its digital asset network (DAN) to build out on- and off-ramps, adding that stablecoins “will help us move away from the correspondent bank system where you typically have money in process for a couple of days,” noting that the firm moves half a billion dollars on average every day.
“So you can imagine what that would mean if we’re able to move that and do that more real-time and not have it money tied up in the process and what I could earn on that,” Cagwin concluded.
