MoneyGram and Stellar Development Foundation announced a live pilot enabling cash-in and cash-out of USDC through MoneyGram's 200+ country agent network, with plans to expand to multiple wallets in 2022.
MoneyGram International and the Stellar Development Foundation unveiled a partnership that bridges traditional finance and blockchain. The pilot, now live, allows users to deposit cash at MoneyGram agents to receive USDC on the Stellar network via wallets like Lobster, and withdraw USDC back to cash in local currency. The integration took only 2.5 months and includes compliance features like wallet-to-ID linking and chain analysis via Elliptic. MoneyGram's global agent network across 200+ countries provides on-the-ground infrastructure for financial inclusion. The partnership addresses key pain points: enabling unbanked populations to access blockchain, improving settlement speed for MoneyGram, and creating true interoperability between traditional finance and digital assets. Plans for 2022 include expanding to multiple wallets and targeting 11 countries for cash-in functionality.