MoneyGram Launches Stablecoin-Backed Visa Card, Starting in Colombia

MoneyGram has introduced a stablecoin-backed Visa card that lets customers hold a dollar-pegged balance and spend it anywhere Visa is accepted, or withdraw local currency at the company’s retail network. The launch, announced September 10, 2026, and starting in Colombia with plans to expand across Latin America, pushes an 86-year-old remittance company deeper into everyday payments built on blockchain rails rather than traditional bank settlement.

The MoneyGram Card was built with three partners: Rain, which supplies the card infrastructure; Crossmint, which handles the wallet technology; and Visa, whose network processes the transactions. It runs on the Stellar network and currently supports USDC, the dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Circle, with support for MoneyGram’s own stablecoin, MGUSD, planned for a later date. A physical version of the card is expected in late 2026; for now, the product appears to launch in digital form.

From Remittances to a Dollar Wallet in Your Pocket

MoneyGram’s move into stablecoins is not new. The company began experimenting with the technology in 2021 through a partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation that allowed customers to convert cash into USDC at retail locations. That relationship laid the groundwork for the card announced this week, and it culminated in June 2026 with the launch of MGUSD, MoneyGram’s own stablecoin.

The company is not starting from zero in terms of reach. MoneyGram says it serves more than 60 million active customers across over 200 countries and territories, with nearly 500,000 retail locations where people can turn cash into digital value and back again. That physical footprint is arguably MoneyGram’s biggest differentiator from crypto-native wallets or neobanks: a customer without a bank account can still walk into a storefront, load a stablecoin balance, and later cash it back out in local currency.

It’s worth noting this isn’t MoneyGram’s first attempt at a card product. The company previously offered a fiat-based debit card called MoneyGram Account, issued through Pathward, which was discontinued in December 2025. The new stablecoin-based card effectively replaces that offering with one built on crypto infrastructure instead of a conventional bank-issued debit rail.

What the Card Signals for Stablecoin Adoption

The launch fits into a broader pattern of traditional payment and financial infrastructure companies building directly on top of stablecoins rather than treating them as a niche product. Visa itself has reported adjusted stablecoin transaction volume in the trillions of dollars over the past 12 months on its public dashboard, a scale that underscores how much stablecoin activity is already routing through mainstream payment networks rather than staying confined to crypto exchanges. The total stablecoin supply now sits near $300 billion, context that helps explain why a remittance giant would want its own branded token and card rather than simply reselling someone else’s.

For MoneyGram specifically, the card represents a shift in business model logic. Cross-border remittances have long depended on correspondent banking relationships and cash agents to move money between countries, a process that can be slow and costly. A stablecoin-based card, by contrast, lets a balance move at blockchain speed and then convert to spendable value through Visa’s existing merchant acceptance network, or back to cash through MoneyGram’s own locations. That dual on-ramp and off-ramp structure is what distinguishes MoneyGram’s approach from purely digital-native stablecoin wallets, which often lack a physical cash network entirely.

The choice of Colombia as the first market is notable given the country’s relatively high remittance inflows and its use as a testing ground for dollar-denominated financial products amid local currency volatility. Latin America more broadly has been an active region for stablecoin experimentation, as residents in several countries look for ways to hold dollar-linked value without relying solely on local banking systems.

None of this happens in a vacuum of scrutiny. The stablecoin sector has faced its share of turbulence this year, from analyst skepticism about USDC’s growth trajectory to custody failures elsewhere in the crypto industry, such as the collapse of an exchange following a custody breach. Those episodes are a reminder that infrastructure choices — who holds the wallet keys, how reserves are managed, and which network settles the transactions — matter as much as the marketing around a new card product.

What to Watch

• Whether MoneyGram’s expansion beyond Colombia into other Latin American markets proceeds on schedule, and which countries are next.
• The rollout of the physical card version expected in late 2026, and whether it broadens acceptance beyond digital-only use cases.
• Integration of MGUSD as a supported balance alongside USDC, and how MoneyGram positions its own stablecoin against third-party alternatives.
• Regulatory and compliance developments around stablecoin-linked card products as adoption spreads through mainstream payment networks.

Source: The Block

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.