MoneyGram Reinvents Cross-Border Finance with Next-Generation App

The user experience is simple by design but transformative in impact: Within the MoneyGram app, customers will be able to receive funds instantly into a secure USD balance, store those funds in the world's most stable currency and cash out or spend whenever and however they choose.   

Launching first in Colombia with plans to expand to additional markets, the app is designed to deliver greater value to recipients, while marking a key step toward building an enhanced, unified MoneyGram experience for both senders and recipients worldwide.  

Solving Real Problems for Real People  

For millions of people around the world, sending money across borders is a lifeline: supporting loved ones back home, covering essentials like food, housing and education, and enabling investments in businesses and long-term financial stability.   

Yet in many regions, receiving that support still means traveling to pick up physical cash, carrying around large amounts of local fiat currency and watching that currency steadily lose value over time.   

This innovation changes that reality. In Colombia, MoneyGram customers will have the ability to instantly receive and hold funds in the app, providing a stable and trusted environment that enables them to manage their money on their own terms.    

Colombia is the ideal launch market: a major inbound remittance corridor where families receive more than 22 times the money they send abroad,¹ and where the exchange rate has tended to depreciate over the last decade against the U.S. dollar.²  

The Future of Money, on Your Terms   

"This is where MoneyGram – and money itself – is headed," said Anthony Soohoo, MoneyGram Chief Executive Officer. "We believe in a future where financial access is universal, and no one gets left behind. Built for global scale, this launch is the first step toward a world where every person, everywhere, has access to dollar stablecoins."   

The next-generation MoneyGram app will redefine the future of money to be:   

• Controlled – Funds held in stable USD, protecting recipients from local currency devaluation
• Flexible – Recipients control how they hold, manage and spend funds, with convenient access to cash out at MoneyGram retail locations
• Secure – Built on decades of best-in-class compliance, regulatory leadership and global trust
• Instant – Funds delivered in seconds, powered by USD-pegged stablecoins, blockchain and MoneyGram's global network
• Transparent – Transactions include secure, trackable links for visibility, along with real-time notifications for recipients
• Personalized – Communication and money move together with the ability to add personalized messages (via WhatsApp, SMS or the MoneyGram app)
• Inclusive – Available to anyone with a smartphone, no bank account needed

A Brand You Trust, Built for a New Era  

Behind the scenes, the experience is powered by Stellar, the blockchain designed for fast, low-cost payments and real-world utility, and Crossmint, the leading wallet infrastructure and stablecoin payments platform. Customer balances are held in Circle's USDC, the world's largest regulated³ stablecoin.  

"We've always believed in doing the hard work to make things simple for the customer," said Luke Tuttle, MoneyGram Chief Product and Technology Officer. "As financial technology evolves, MoneyGram is once again leading the way, delivering real stablecoin utility in a safe, secure and compliant way through a brand consumers trust."    

MoneyGram has long recognized the potential of stablecoins – digital currencies pegged to stable assets like the U.S. dollar – to streamline global cross-border money transfers and enhance backend operations. Now, as stablecoins increasingly move into the mainstream, MoneyGram is uniquely positioned to lead.   

Since 2021, MoneyGram has:  

• Partnered with the Stellar Development Foundation (supports the Stellar blockchain) and Circle
• Built the world's largest cash on/off-ramp for digital currencies
• Launched MoneyGram Ramps, a developer-first API that enables fast, compliant cash-to crypto and crypto-to-cash integration
• Integrated stablecoins into internal operations to drive efficiencies and enhance end-user value
• Advanced an industry leading compliance program and paved a regulatory path to innovate responsibly

Today, MoneyGram is a global leader in cross-border payments, helping families send and receive money worldwide. With nearly 500,000 retail locations and over five billion digital endpoints, the company operates one of the most advanced and accessible payment networks in the world.  

Backed by decades of experience and trusted by millions of customers, MoneyGram is leading the way in stablecoin integration to make the movement of money across borders seamless, affordable and secure for everyone.  

What Comes Next  

The app will soon be available in Colombia for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Join the waitlist.

In the near future, customers in Colombia will gain access to additional features that further bridge physical and digital channels, creating a true omni-channel experience:

• Add cash directly into USD balance via the MoneyGram retail network
• Spend online or in-person in USD globally with linked Visa or Mastercard debit cards, avoiding exchange rates
• Earn incentives on deposits through integrated savings options

Additional markets will follow, as MoneyGram advances its global vision to democratize financial access.   

About MoneyGram   
MoneyGram connects the world by making the movement of money across borders seamless, affordable and secure for everyone. Each year, the company serves more than 50 million people in over 200 countries and territories. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with offices in 36 countries, MoneyGram is globally recognized for its high-performance culture and has been honored as a Top Workplaces USA award winner for four consecutive years.  

MoneyGram Media Contact  
Sydney Schoolfield  
[email protected]  

¹ https://www.statista.com/topics/12149/remittance-in-colombia/#topicOverview   
² https://www.focus-economics.com/country-indicator/colombia/exchange-rate/  
³ USDC is issued by regulated affiliates of Circle. A list of Circle's regulatory authorizations can be found here.
⁴ Any USD Balance is automatically held in USDC, which is a stablecoin. USDC's value is pegged 1:1 to the U.S. Dollar.

SOURCE MoneyGram