Stablecoin payment infrastructure firm Rain says the payment flows it supports now reach more than 100,000 merchants, even though most of those merchants do not know the transactions are being settled with stablecoins in the background. According to an Aug. 19 report by The Block, Rain CEO Farooq Malik said the company’s model lets businesses issue Visa and Mastercard cards that settle against stablecoin balances, while merchants simply see an ordinary card payment moving through the existing card-network clearing rails. In practice, that means no extra merchant integration is required and no visible change appears at checkout. Rain has also been expanding its partnerships. The company said it has deepened card-issuing work with Visa and Mastercard, and that Western Union’s Stablecard is supported by Rain, using USDPT for settlement while spending on the Visa network. Rain added that it has signed more than 100 partners, operates across more than 150 countries, and has grown transaction volume by about 10x so far this year. The company’s pitch is straightforward: if stablecoins can sit behind a payment card without changing the merchant experience, adoption can spread through existing global card infrastructure rather than waiting for merchants to directly accept on-chain payments.

Stablecoin card issuer Rain has acquired Ansa, a startup that sells software for merchant-branded prepaid wallets. The deal adds a fiat-based stored-value product rather than a stablecoin system: Ansa’s wallets hold prepaid dollar balances that customers load in advance and spend with the issuing brand. Rain said it plans to combine those balances with its Visa and Mastercard issuing stack so funds can also be used outside the original merchant, while bringing wallets, rewards and stablecoins onto one platform. Ansa was founded in 2022 by former Adyen manager Sophia Goldberg and former Affirm engineer JT Cho. The company emerged from stealth in April 2023 with $5.4 million led by Bain Capital Ventures, then raised a $14 million Series A led by Renegade Partners in April 2024, bringing disclosed funding to $19.4 million. Goldberg will join Rain as head of payments. Rain also tied the acquisition to agentic commerce, saying programmable stored balances with limits on who can spend, where, and by when map to the same core primitive as the scoped cards it offers for AI agents. The acquisition marks Rain’s second purchase in nine months, following its Uptop deal in November 2025.

Western Union has launched Stablecard in partnership with card infrastructure provider Rain, linking its USDPT stablecoin to everyday Visa payments. Announced on Aug. 4, the product combines a digital wallet and a Visa card, allowing users to receive Western Union cross-border remittances in USDPT, hold the funds in the app, and load them onto the card for spending at merchants that accept Visa. USDPT is Western Union’s U.S. dollar stablecoin, issued by Anchorage on Solana. The launch starts in 37 markets, with the company planning to expand to more than 60 by year-end. Western Union said the product is aimed at places where local currencies are unstable and demand for stablecoins already exists. Rain provides the enterprise wallet and card infrastructure and is a Principal Member of both Visa and Mastercard. The Stablecard app is already available on the App Store and Google Play. The move adds a consumer spending layer to Western Union’s earlier USDPT rollout, creating a chain that runs from issuance to remittance receipt and card spending.

Western Union is trying to do more than launch a branded stablecoin. The 175-year-old remittance company is building a cross-border payments stack around USDPT, a U.S. dollar stablecoin that went live on Solana on May 4, 2026. USDPT is issued and redeemed by Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A., with reserves backed by bank deposits, U.S. Treasuries, and cash equivalents, while Fireblocks provides wallet, settlement, and treasury infrastructure. The strategy has three layers. First, Western Union wants to use USDPT as a 24/7 settlement asset between itself and global agents, aiming to reduce idle prefunding balances across markets. Second, its Digital Asset Network is designed to connect compliant exchanges and custodians to Western Union’s liquidity and payment rails. Bybit is the first major crypto exchange to integrate USDPT, allowing eligible users in parts of Latin America to buy and sell the token through fiat channels. Third, consumer spending is handled through the Western Union Stablecard, built with Rain and supported by Visa. The card is live in 37 markets and is planned to expand to more than 60 by year-end. Western Union is not presenting USDPT as a government-backed digital dollar, and the company says the token is not issued, approved, or guaranteed by the U.S. government, nor covered by FDIC or other government deposit insurance. Its edge, for now, is less about competing head-on with USDT or USDC on on-chain liquidity, and more about tying a regulated stablecoin into a network that spans more than 200 countries and territories, supports nearly 130 currencies, and reaches hundreds of thousands of retail locations.

Western Union and stablecoin card issuer Rain launched Stablecard on Aug. 4, introducing a digital wallet and Visa card that allows remittance recipients to receive funds as USDPT and spend them at Visa merchants or withdraw through ATMs. The product is now live in 37 markets that Western Union said include places where local currencies are unstable and demand for stablecoins is already visible, with a goal of reaching more than 60 markets by year-end. USDPT, issued by Anchorage Digital Bank on Solana and redeemable 1:1 for U.S. dollars, currently has 7.4 million tokens in circulation across 162 addresses. The rollout also comes days after Western Union reported weaker quarterly results, cut its full-year adjusted earnings guidance, and saw its stock fall to a 52-week low before rebounding on the day of the launch.

Western Union has officially launched Stablecard, a Visa-integrated payment card powered by Rain's stablecoin infrastructure. The card enables users to receive USDPT, a stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank on Solana, and spend it instantly at Visa-accepting merchants worldwide or withdraw cash as needed. The initial rollout covers 37 markets, with Western Union planning to expand to more than 60 markets by the end of the year. According to the company, stablecoin support will lower the need for pre-funded capital in cross-border remittances, improve capital efficiency, and pave the way for additional digital financial services. The new product highlights how established remittance providers are integrating blockchain-based settlement into mainstream payment flows, leveraging Solana for issuance and Visa's global network for point-of-sale spending.

Western Union said it will launch the Solana-based stablecoin USDPT in May for internal agent settlements, while also building a Digital Asset Network and a consumer-focused stablecoin card.

Western Union introduces USDPT, a digital dollar on Solana, enabling low-fee instant transfers. Solana Research Institute founder says this blurs the lines between remittances, payments, and bank transfers, serving as a test case for traditional finance modernization.