Western Union is exploring offering a variety of blockchain-based services
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(Kitco News) – International money transfer company Western Union appears to be preparing to offer crypto-related services based on several recently filed trademark applications.
Trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis highlighted the filings with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in a chirping posted on Tuesday, which notes that the company filed its filings on Oct. 18.
Western Union is seeking clearance to provide a range of services, including the ability to manage wallets, exchange digital assets and commodity derivatives, issue tokens of value, and provide brokerage and insurance services.
#WesternUnion have submitted 3 trademark applications with requirements for plans for
▶️ Finance + banking + insurance
▶️ Virtual currency exchange + transfer
▶️ Commodity and crypto trading + brokerage
▶️ Issuance of tokens
…and much more#Web3 #Metaverse #Cryptocurrency #NFT #DeFi pic.twitter.com/YvKysvj3mq— Mike Kondoudis (@KondoudisLaw) 25 October 2022
The nature of the applications created by Western Union suggests that the company intends to launch its own virtual currency exchange and cryptocurrency token at some point in the future, along with plans to manage and manage digital assets.
Up to this point, the firm has shown great caution in engaging with blockchain technology. As a major provider of cross-border money transfer services, blockchain technology’s ability to facilitate money transfers is undeniable, but the evolution of the technology and lack of regulatory clarity have held it back from going all-in.
As competition in the money transfer market becomes more competitive, Western Union now appears to be expanding its capabilities in an effort to remain relevant.
Earlier in 2022, top US-based crypto exchange Coinbase launched a remittance trial for recipients in Mexico, the world’s second largest remittance market – posing a direct challenge to Western Union which currently dominates the Mexico market.
The trial featured a service that allowed users to send US dollars and withdraw Mexican pesos. Several other service providers have also entered the Mexican market during 2022, and several financial inclusion solutions have emerged to offer alternatives to traditional money transfer services.
Despite increased competition, Western Union remains one of the largest players in the global money transfer industry and is well positioned to integrate advances in technology that help improve services and reduce associated costs.
As former Western Union Global Money Transfer president Odilon Almeida once said, the firm is “better positioned to benefit from the cryptocurrency movement in the long term than any startup.”
“Cryptocurrency can become yet another option for a way to exchange assets between people and countries. If that happens, we will be ready to launch,” Almeida added. “Western Union is already better equipped to address such variables because it already moves money across 130 currencies and devotes significant resources to all three of these challenges.”
However, the competition is only going to increase from here, as many multinationals – including PayPal and MasterCard – have recently thrown their hat into the money transfer ring.
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