Western Union selects Fireblocks for first stablecoin infrastructure
Western Union (NYSE: WU) announced it selected Fireblocks to provide infrastructure for USDPT, the company's U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin. The partnership will enable Western Union to settle with agents using USDPT across its global network.
Fireblocks will provide wallet, settlement, and financial operations infrastructure for the stablecoin. The platform will work alongside Dynamic's embedded wallet technology and TRES' financial platform, both recently acquired by Fireblocks, according to the company statement.
USDPT operations will initially launch in the Philippines and Bolivia, with expansion planned across Western Union's global network through 2026. The stablecoin aims to serve customers in markets where access to U.S. dollars is limited or local currencies experience volatility.
"Stablecoins are the foundation of how we deliver the next generation of settlement and consumer services in an evolving digital ecosystem," said Malcolm Clarke, Global Head of Digital Assets at Western Union.
The infrastructure includes Fireblocks' custody and policy controls, Dynamic's non-custodial embedded wallets for Western Union agents, and TRES technology that converts blockchain data into SWIFT banking formats for existing treasury systems.
Fireblocks operates a platform that the company states has secured more than $14 trillion in digital asset transactions. The Fireblocks Network connects institutional counterparties across 100-plus countries for liquidity and settlement operations.
The rollout represents Western Union's strategy to modernize settlement infrastructure as the payments industry adopts blockchain technology. Western Union has operated money transfer services for more than 170 years across 200-plus countries and territories.
