Seeking to modernize and better meet the needs of its customers, MoneyGram has partnered with the Stellar network, which has supported many of the company’s blockchain initiatives over the past five years. But the company has also begun to explore other ecosystems.– While Stellar remains a primary partner, MoneyGram has also become a Solana and Tempo validator. For MoneyGram, the immediate reward is not speculative crypto activity, but replacement of legacy financial rails.
Current cross-border settlement still relies heavily on banking hours and weekday processing. Soohoo argued that blockchain-based infrastructure enables real-time settlement 24 hours a day, reducing operational costs and improving customer experience.
“We believe that if we do it right, we can do all three,” he said, referring to helping customers save time, effort and money. Instant settlement also allows MoneyGram to reduce administrative costs, savings the company hopes to eventually pass on through lower prices. Currently, MoneyGram fees start at $1.89 and vary depending on the country you send to.
Soohoo doesn’t believe consumers need to understand the technology driving those improvements. He compared blockchain to the processors inside Apple’s iPhone.
“I can’t tell you what processor is inside my iPhone,” he said. “I just know it’s faster.” Likewise, he argued, remittance customers care whether the money arrives quickly and reliably, not whether it traveled through a blockchain.
