Western Union launches USDPT, a Solana-backed regulated stablecoin

Western Union launched USDPT on May 4, 2026. The token is a U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin built on the Solana blockchain and issued by Anchorage Digital Bank N.A., a federally chartered bank. Western Union says USDPT will be used to settle transactions with its global agent network around the clock and will replace SWIFT-based interbank rails for those settlements.

The company plans to use USDPT first for back-office settlement between Western Union and its more than 400,000 agent locations. Pilot corridors will include the Philippines and Bolivia. Western Union aims to move funds in near real time, including weekends and holidays, instead of waiting two to three business days under legacy banking systems.

Anchorage Digital Bank holds the dollar reserves that back USDPT on a one-to-one basis. The bank keeps those reserves in short-duration dollar instruments to match each token in circulation. Anchorage also acts as the regulated issuer and reserve custodian for the token.

Western Union named several technology partners for the project. Fireblocks provides wallet, settlement and financial operations infrastructure. Crossmint supplies wallet and API tooling to let fintechs connect to USDPT and Western Union’s payout network. Western Union selected Solana for the token’s ledger because of its transaction speed and throughput.

The company announced a consumer product called Stable by Western Union, which it plans to launch in more than 40 countries in 2026. Western Union is also developing a USD Stable Card for users in high-inflation markets that would let holders keep dollar balances in USDPT and spend locally through card networks. Separately, Western Union is rolling out a Digital Asset Network to connect licensed digital-asset platforms to its cash-out infrastructure; the first partner went live the week of April 27, 2026, and the firm expects seven or more partners to activate during the year.

Western Union processes transactions for more than 100 million customer relationships worldwide. The company says that integrating USDPT into its payments flow gives the token immediate distribution through its physical agent network. Western Union plans to make USDPT available on licensed virtual currency exchanges to expand access to its payout and liquidity infrastructure.

Anchorage’s federal bank charter is part of the offering’s regulatory design. Anchorage holds a federal charter for a crypto custody institution, and Western Union stated that placing USDPT inside that regulatory perimeter aligns the stablecoin with the compliance framework used by nationally chartered banks.

Devin McGranahan, Western Union president and chief executive officer, described the integration as creating ‘a more efficient settlement layer that supports partners, agents and future consumer use cases.’ Nathan McCauley, co-founder and chief executive of Anchorage Digital, called scaling stablecoins into payment networks a task that ‘requires regulatory alignment and operational rigor’ and said Anchorage’s charter provides a foundation for USDPT to operate as ‘trusted, always-on financial infrastructure from day one.’ Lily Liu, president of the Solana Foundation, noted that Solana’s infrastructure provides the speed and reliability needed for financial settlement.

At launch the primary use case is agent settlement. Western Union plans additional consumer and partner rollouts through 2026.