Western Union launches stablecoin payment card to address purchasing power concerns in high-inflation regions

[BlockBeats] On December 6, the long-established payment giant Western Union made a big move—they directly launched a payment card with stablecoin preloading.

This card mainly targets regions with skyrocketing inflation. Their CFO, Matthew Cagwin, put it quite bluntly: this thing is basically insurance for purchasing power, especially in economies where the local currency is rapidly depreciating. For example, Argentina saw inflation soar above 200% last year, making the local currency untenable. A stablecoin card denominated in US dollars can help recipients preserve their wealth.

This move also shows that traditional payment giants are accelerating the integration of digital assets into their service systems. After all, in some places, fiat currency credibility collapses so quickly that stablecoins become the more reliable option.