Blog Article
MoneyGram International Launches a New Pilot on Stellar
Author
Caroline Young
Publishing date
Moneygram access
On and off-ramps
In early October, MoneyGram International announced a partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation to integrate the Stellar blockchain into MoneyGram’s network and enable cash funding and payout in local currency with Stellar USDC, complete with near-instant backend settlement capabilities. This collaboration between MoneyGram and SDF has enabled one of the quickest, most seamless integrations yet!
In just a little over one month, MoneyGram and SDF have hit the first major milestone in the partnership by launching a live cash-in and cash-out pilot in the U.S. Pilot participants can now deposit cash into their digital wallets at participating MoneyGram locations and send payments internationally via Stellar USDC. The pilot also lets participants exchange Stellar USDC for any cash currency supported on the MoneyGram platform.
Revolutionizing payments with Stellar
Electronic wallets, app-based financial services, and digital assets are more popular than ever, and one payments company has taken note of the growing adoption of these innovative products and services.
A pioneer in the financial services industry, MoneyGram was the first money transfer company to use blockchain technology at scale as part of its FX trading. Since then, MoneyGram has continued to make investments in blockchain technology and innovative partnerships focused on leading the evolution of digital P2P payments and money transfers.
With Stellar, MoneyGram enables consumers to seamlessly convert USDC to cash, or cash to USDC – all without requiring a bank account. Since USDC is the world’s fastest growing digital dollar currency, the utility and liquidity of this versatile digital asset will only grow as more wallets and companies join the Stellar ecosystem.
With this partnership, the settlement process gets an update too – for the first time, settlement with MoneyGram will be nearly instantaneous, thanks to USDC. Immediate settlement will accelerate fund collection, improve efficiency, and reduce risk.
At its core, this unique partnership embraces the reality that, even though the utility and adoption of digital assets is growing, cash isn’t going anywhere. Many markets across the world still run on cash, and these markets often serve large un- and under-banked populations.
By integrating with Stellar, MoneyGram will provide greater access to financial services while demonstrating that blockchain can be interoperable with traditional financial infrastructure – and to great effect.
How did MoneyGram integrate with Stellar for its pilot?
Since Stellar is an open-source network, anyone (including MoneyGram) can take advantage of the extensive documentation and resources readily available. This includes:
- Mature and well-documented SDKs in multiple programming languages.
- A well-designed set of Stellar Ecosystem Protocols (SEPs).
- A plethora of SDF-created APIs, tools, and documentation.
Check out the demo video below, where SDF’s Senior Software Engineer Jake Urban demonstrates how to cash in and cash out with MoneyGram using the LOBSTR wallet!
By integrating with Stellar, MoneyGram is offering its millions of users a local fiat entry into blockchain, providing those in emerging markets easier access to digital assets than ever before. This pilot is just the first of many steps to create greater access to the world’s financial system for everyone, regardless of where they are. 11 markets will have cash-in capability upon the service’s full launch in 2022 before rolling out to more locations – stay tuned for more updates!