On April 22, 2026, MoneyGram and the Stellar Development Foundation announced a multi-year extension of their partnership, marking more than five years of collaboration aimed at scaling real-world stablecoin utility across the globe. The deal signals a deepening commitment to using USDC on Stellar as the settlement layer for cross-border remittances -- and it opens significant doors for developers building on the network.

From Pilot to Production: The Partnership Timeline

The MoneyGram-Stellar relationship has evolved far beyond a typical blockchain proof-of-concept:

The numbers tell the story: over $4.2 billion in USDC remittance volume facilitated through the partnership, serving 50 million customers across 200+ countries with nearly 500,000 agent locations.

How the System Works

The architecture is elegantly simple, and it matters for developers because every component is built on open Stellar protocols.

Cash-In (On-Ramp)

A user walks into a MoneyGram location, provides cash, and receives USDC settled on the Stellar blockchain in under 5 seconds. No bank account needed.

Cash-Out (Off-Ramp)

A USDC holder visits any MoneyGram location and converts stablecoins to local fiat currency. This replaces the multi-day correspondent banking delays that plague traditional remittances.

App-Based Remittance Flow

Settlement happens on Stellar in 3-5 seconds, compared to 1-5 business days through traditional banking rails.

Why This Matters for Developers

The most underappreciated aspect of this partnership is MoneyGram Ramps (formerly MoneyGram Access) -- a developer-facing API that lets any wallet or fintech app tap into MoneyGram's global cash network.

Integration Is Straightforward

MoneyGram Ramps uses SEP-24 (Stellar Ecosystem Proposal 24) for deposit and withdrawal operations and SEP-10 for authentication. If your wallet already supports SEP-24, integration is minimal. MoneyGram provides:

What You Get

The Developer Opportunity

Consider what this means: with a standard Stellar wallet integration and the MoneyGram Ramps API, you can offer your users the ability to deposit or withdraw cash at half a million locations worldwide. MoneyGram handles the regulatory complexity. Your app handles the user experience.

This is the kind of infrastructure that makes building real-world financial applications on Stellar practical rather than theoretical.

The Colombia Case Study

Colombia was chosen as the first market for the stablecoin-powered app for a specific reason: the Colombian peso has lost over 40% of its value in four years. For remittance recipients, holding a USD-denominated stablecoin balance isn't a crypto speculation play -- it's a practical tool for preserving purchasing power.

Early results are promising: nearly $30 million in total transaction volume through the stablecoin-balance feature across Colombia and El Salvador, with additional Latin American markets planned for 2026.

What Executives Are Saying

Anthony Soohoo, Chairman and CEO of MoneyGram:

"Everyone talks about financial inclusion. MoneyGram is delivering it. We are building an open payments network that moves seamlessly across fiat and stablecoin, enabling faster, lower-cost transactions, starting with the people who need it most."

Denelle Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation:

"With SDF's purpose-built blockchain infrastructure and MoneyGram's global reach, that ambition is finally matched by the infrastructure to deliver it. Together, we're expanding access, lowering costs and enabling instant cross-border payments at scale."

The Technology Stack

The full stack powering this system is worth understanding:

Every component is accessible to developers. You can build on the same Stellar network, use the same USDC token, and integrate with the same MoneyGram Ramps API.

Building on This Infrastructure

If you're developing applications that need fiat on/off ramps, the MoneyGram-Stellar integration provides production-grade infrastructure you can build on with confidence. Here's how to start:

LumenQuery provides the reliable Horizon API and Soroban RPC infrastructure you need to build applications that interact with Stellar's growing payment ecosystem. Monitor real-time network activity on our analytics dashboard.

*Building on Stellar's payment infrastructure? LumenQuery provides enterprise-grade Horizon API and Soroban RPC with sub-100ms response times. Start free with 10,000 requests/month.*