In attempting to modernize and better meet its customers’ needs, MoneyGram has partnered with the Stellar network, which has underpinned many of the company’s blockchain initiatives over the past five years. But the company has also started exploring other ecosystems: while Stellar remains a core partner, MoneyGram has also become a validator on Solana and Tempo. For MoneyGram, the immediate payoff isn’t speculative crypto activity, it’s replacing legacy financial rails.
Today’s cross-border settlement still largely depends on banking hours and weekday processing. Blockchain-based infrastructure, Soohoo argued, enables real-time settlement around the clock, reducing operational costs while improving the customer experience.
“We believe if we do it right, we can achieve all three,” he said, referring to helping customers save time, effort and money. Instant settlement also allows MoneyGram to lower back-office costs, savings the company hopes to eventually pass on through lower prices. Currently, MoneyGram’s fees start at $1.89 and vary depending on what country you send them to.
Soohoo doesn’t believe consumers need to understand the technology powering 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.” In the same way, he argued, remittance customers care about whether money arrives quickly and reliably, not whether it traveled over a blockchain.