Key Takeaways:
MoneyGram's new stablecoin is built for the 60 million customers who move money across borders, not for crypto traders.
MoneyGram International Inc. on Tuesday launched MGUSD, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin issued on the Stellar blockchain, embedding a digital dollar directly into its global payments network for more than 60 million active customers. The token, issued by Bridge — the stablecoin infrastructure firm acquired by Stripe Inc. in February — will first be available to U.S. users through a self-custodial wallet inside the MoneyGram app, with plans for a global rollout across nearly 500,000 retail locations.
"The stablecoin market has largely focused on the asset itself. MoneyGram is taking a fundamentally different approach," Anthony Soohoo, chairman and chief executive officer of MoneyGram, said in a statement. "Starting with our distribution platform, we're using stablecoin as a foundation to build future applications on our global network. MGUSD is the stablecoin we built for our customers, for the families sending money home and for the billions of people around the world with limited financial access."
MGUSD is minted and burned using smart contract infrastructure from M0, with wallet custody provided by Fireblocks. Bridge serves as the regulated issuer, described by MoneyGram as GENIUS Act-ready — a reference to the U.S. stablecoin regulatory framework. The launch deepens a five-year partnership between MoneyGram and the Stellar Development Foundation, which previously focused on stablecoin-powered remittance pilots. More than 70 percent of MoneyGram's transactions are now digital, the company said.
The stablecoin market has grown to roughly $300 billion in total supply, with Citi projecting it could reach $4 trillion by 2030. MoneyGram joins a wave of traditional payments firms moving into digital dollars: SoFi recently unveiled its own stablecoin, SoFiUSD, while Western Union partnered with Anchorage Digital and PayPal worked with Paxos to bring stablecoin services to customers. For MoneyGram, MGUSD is intended to serve as the infrastructure layer connecting cash, digital wallets and cross-border transfers across its omnichannel network.
Built for Remittances, Not Speculation
MGUSD is designed for the roughly 1.4 billion adults globally who remain underserved by traditional banking, according to World Bank data. Customers in markets with high inflation or currency instability can hold a dollar-denominated balance in the MoneyGram app and convert to local currency when needed. The self-custodial wallet structure means users control their own funds directly, rather than relying on MoneyGram as a custodian.
"Over the past year, we rebuilt the core of MoneyGram so that a digital dollar could move through it as naturally as cash moves through our agent network," Luke Tuttle, chief product and technology officer at MoneyGram, said. "Everything our customers experience, such as faster transfers and the ability to hold digital U.S. dollars globally, is the surface of that work."
Stellar's Institutional Push
The Stellar network, which has processed billions of operations since its launch, is positioning itself as a settlement layer for regulated financial institutions. Denelle Dixon, chief executive officer of the Stellar Development Foundation, said the partnership with MoneyGram demonstrates that stablecoins "have moved well beyond pilots."
"MGUSD is the next milestone that demonstrates what purpose-built blockchain can deliver when paired with a trusted payments network," Dixon said.
The launch comes as stablecoin issuers face increasing regulatory scrutiny in the U.S., with the GENIUS Act advancing through Congress to establish federal oversight of payment stablecoins. MoneyGram's decision to build MGUSD on Stellar — rather than Ethereum, Solana or other high-throughput chains — reflects the network's focus on low-cost, compliant payments infrastructure for institutional use cases.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
