Western Union debuts USDPT stablecoin for payments

Western Union has introduced a US dollar-denominated payment stablecoin as it moves toward “regulated, digital-first financial infrastructure”.

The stablecoin, called USDPT, is fully backed by US dollars and is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, a federally regulated crypto bank in the country.

Western Union said the asset is built on the Solana blockchain and is designed to operate within existing payment systems.

Solana Foundation president Lily Liu said: “Bringing stablecoins into production payment flows requires infrastructure that is both institution-grade and continuously available.

“Solana’s high-throughput, low-latency design enables assets like USDPT to move with the speed and reliability required for real-world financial settlement, supporting global payments without interruption.”

In a separate statement, Fireblocks said it will provide core infrastructure supporting USDPT. Fireblocks, alongside Dynamic’s embedded wallet and TRES’ financial platform, will support Western Union’s plans to settle with agents in USDPT across its global network this year.

Western Union president and CEO Devin McGranahan said: “USDPT reinforces Western Union’s role as a global payments platform.

“By integrating a regulated digital dollar directly into our network, we’re creating a more efficient settlement layer that supports partners, agents and future consumer use cases — all while preserving the trust and scale that define our brand.”

The money transfer company said USDPT is intended to support multiple use cases across its ecosystem. The company outlined several services under development.

One initiative, Global Exchange Support, is designed to make USDPT available for purchase on licenced virtual currency exchanges. Western Union is also planning a Digital Asset Network to connect licenced exchanges and custodians to its payout and liquidity infrastructure.

The company additionally announced Stable by Western Union, a consumer-facing spend capability. Western Union said it will launch in 2026 in more than 40 countries.

Another planned use case is Treasury and Agent Settlement. This is aimed at enabling near-instant, 24/7 settlement in USDPT between Western Union and its global agents. Western Union said the approach is intended to reduce idle balances and allow liquidity to be deployed more dynamically across its network.

Last month, Western Union reported GAAP net income of $64.7m for the first quarter of 2026. This was down from $123.5m in the same period last year.