Western Union picks Noah to pay out money transfers in stablecoin

Western Union has chosen Noah, a London-based stablecoin payments infrastructure provider, to run the on-chain banking network behind Receiver Redirect, a service that pays international money transfers out in stablecoin. Noah announced the deal on 20 October and said the service will cover more than 60 currencies across more than 200 countries and territories, open to Western Union’s 150 million-plus customers.

Under the agreement, Noah holds the licenses and runs the treasury that pre-funds and converts USDPT, Western Union’s dollar stablecoin, before it reaches the recipient, and takes on compliance with each market’s rules, according to the release. A customer can hand over cash at one of Western Union’s more than 500,000 agent locations; the recipient’s Western Union wallet is credited in USDPT, and Stablecard, unveiled by Western Union in August, lets them keep the balance with no time limit.

Shah Ramezani, Noah’s founder and chief executive, said cross-border transfers through traditional banks are “no longer fit for purpose”. Noah’s own announcement, citing the World Bank, puts remittances at $905bn (£675bn) a year and bank fees at 6% of the amount sent. It also gives business-to-business stablecoin volume as $226bn (£169bn) annualized for 2026, up 733%, while noting that stablecoins still carry under 1% of cross-border B2B payments. As reported by The Paypers, the arrangement divides the work three ways: a regulated bank issues the token, Noah handles conversion, liquidity and compliance, and Western Union provides the customers.

Noah closed a $38m (£28m) seed round on 7 October, adding $16m from Endeit Capital, FJ Labs, LocalGlobe, Felix Capital and others to an earlier $22m, according to Tech.eu. The company says it is live in more than 150 markets and is putting the money into US expansion, including a New York office.