MoneyGram partnered with payments-focused blockchain Tempo to support stablecoin settlement and help validate remittance transactions on the network, as remittance companies increasingly adopt blockchain technology for cross-border transfers.
The companies said Stripe plans to settle transactions to MoneyGram using Tempo’s infrastructure as part of efforts to move treasury and payment flows onto stablecoin rails.
Tempo is a Layer 1 blockchain incubated by Stripe and Paradigm that focuses on stablecoin transfers and cross-border payments. In April, Visa became an early validator on Tempo, alongside companies including Stripe and Zodia Custody.
MoneyGram said it will serve as an “anchor remittance validator” on the network, helping validate transactions as the company expands its role from using blockchain networks to helping operate them directly.
Stablecoins have been identified as a “potential remedy” to friction in cross-border payments, the US Federal Reserve said in a March 30 FEDS Notes. MoneyGram and its rival Western Union dominate the sector, which the Fed said “is generally viewed as slower, more expensive, and not very transparent to end-users relative to domestic payments.”
Remittance companies deepen stablecoin and blockchain push
The world’s largest remittance companies are increasingly expanding into stablecoins and blockchain-based payment infrastructure.
MoneyGram recently partnered with crypto exchange Kraken to let users convert digital assets into cash for pickup through the company’s retail payout network. Kraken said the service would initially focus on cash withdrawals before expanding into bank deposits and cross-border payouts.
In March, Western Union partnered with Crossmint to support its planned Digital Asset Network, which is designed to link stablecoins with the company’s global payout infrastructure. In recent weeks, the company began rolling out its dollar-pegged USDPT token on the Solana (SOL) blockchain, beginning in Bolivia and the Philippines, with the expectation of expanding the stablecoin to more than 40 countries next year.
In Latin America, where remittances play a major role in household income and cross-border payments, stablecoins have become an increasingly popular tool for dollar-based transfers and savings.
A report from Mexico-based crypto exchange Bitso published in April found that stablecoins accounted for 40% of crypto purchases on the platform in 2025, surpassing Bitcoin for the first time among its nearly 10 million users across the region.
World Bank data shows traditonal global remittance fees averaged 6.36% in the third quarter of 2025, more than double the United Nations’ target of 3%.
Source: Worldbank.org