Is Western Union Planning To Launch A Crypto Token? – Here is what you need to know
Western Union has filed three trademark applications related to digital assets, suggesting the international money transfer company may be preparing to offer crypto-related services.
In a Tuesday tweet, trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis wrote so that the three trademarks cover various applications, including the management of wallets, the exchange of digital assets and commodity derivatives, the issuance of tokens of value, and brokerage and insurance services.
“Western Union has submitted 3 trademark applications claiming plans for Financial + Banking + Insurance Virtual Currency Exchange + Commodity & Crypto Trading Transfer + Brokerage Issuing Tokens of Value … and much more,” Kondoudis said in the tweet.
Western Union is a major provider of cross-border money transfer services. The company has been relatively cautious about its crypto interactions so far, but has expressed interest in the industry.
Back in 2015, the international money transfer company partnered with Ripple to settle remittance payments. However, that partnership did not materialize and Ripple began its partnership with MoneyGram, a Western Union competitor, in 2019.
In June 2018, Western Union CEO Hikmet Ersek said it does not plan to add a cryptocurrency transfer solution to its services anytime soon, according to a MarketWatch report. “Consumers tell us what they want. People don’t pay their hospital bills in crypto,” he said at the time.
Ersek also mentioned that central banks are usually skeptical of crypto-assets, citing this as a reason why the company does not plan to expand its services to digital assets. According to Ersek, central banks are not willing to give up control of their local currency to shift to a digital or decentralized alternative.
He said that “nations are built on flags, constitutions, borders and currencies,” adding that no central bank holding a reserve currency would consider giving up that kind of control.
Increasing adoption is pushing Western Union to change its stance
Apparently, the growing use of blockchain technology and the increased competition in the international money transfer space have forced Western Union to change its harsh stance against cryptocurrencies and take advantage of this innovation.
The move comes as major cryptocurrency platform Coinbase began testing a remittance program for recipients in Mexico. According to the CEO of Mexican cryptocurrency exchange Bitso, around 5% of transfers sent from the US to Mexico have been processed in cryptocurrencies so far this year.
In late November, Daniel Vogel, co-founder of Bitso, said that cross-border Bitcoin and altcoin transfers are on the rise, with a weekly growth rate of 15%, reaching $28,000 per week.
