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America based financial services giant Western Union shows green signal to the adoption of cryptocurrencies. The firm says that crypto assets could be added as an option for their clients.
Western Union is looking for the ways in which they can improve their service delivery using blockchain technology. Western Union President Odilon Almeida noted that the firm is interested in adopting cryptocurrencies for users to exchange for fiat currencies. Though, it will only happen if it connects with a global audience.
He then elaborated the negative points of cryptocurrencies and the lack of adoption of it in the mainstream. He listed volatility, governance, and compliance, as the three obstacles against its development. He believes that Stablecoins play an active role in solving the problem of instability in crypto markets.
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He said, “Western Union is ready today to adopt any kind of currency. We already operate with 130 currencies. If we one day feel like it’s the right strategy to introduce cryptocurrencies to our platform, technology-wise it’s just one more currency. I think cryptocurrency may become one more option of currency, or assets, around the globe to be exchanged between people and businesses. If that happens, we will be ready to launch.”
The finance giant has been mulling over Ripple’s blockchain technology since 2015, and it also conducted a trial with Ripple in June 2018. On which, company CEO Hikmet Ersek claimed, “We are always criticized that Western Union is not cost-efficient, blah blah blah, but we did not see that part of the efficiency yet during our tests. The practical matter is it’s still too expensive.”
Ripple’s Senior Vice President of Product Asheesh Birla responded that it is not possible for Western Union to acknowledge any cost savings after ten transactions.
Moreover, Almeida is pretty hopeful and positive regarding prospects of leveraging Ripple for cross-border payments. Almeida emphasizes that Western Union’s decades of money transfer experience puts it in a good position to expand the technology.
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Speaking of Ripple, he noted, “Our pilot with Ripple goes into the same space. It’s about learning. We are looking at blockchain technology and really seeing if it can make us more efficient.”
