Bessie Liu

<div id="highlights-block_6358312e18d07" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Recent trademark filings could imply that Western Union wants to launch its own virtual currency exchange and cryptocurrency token</li>
 <li>The financial services company has plans to expand offerings into managing and administering digital assets</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Western Union has filed crypto-related trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis <a href="https://twitter.com/KondoudisLaw/status/1584882175127613440" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>.&nbsp;



The <a href="https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=97641182&amp;caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&amp;caseType=SERIAL_NO&amp;searchType=statusSearch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">applications</a> made by Western Union imply that the company intends to launch its very own virtual currency exchange and cryptocurrency token. The financial services company also has plans to expand into managing and administering digital assets.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WesternUnion?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WesternUnion</a> has filed 3 trademark applications claiming plans for ▶️ Financial + Banking + Insurance ▶️ Virtual currency exchange + transfer ▶️ Commodity and Crypto trading + brokerage ▶️ Issuing tokens of value …and much more<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Web3?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Web3</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Metaverse?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Metaverse</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cryptocurrency?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cryptocurrency</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFT</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeFi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DeFi</a> <a href="https://t.co/YvKysvj3mq">pic.twitter.com/YvKysvj3mq</a>&mdash; Mike Kondoudis (@KondoudisLaw) <a href="https://twitter.com/KondoudisLaw/status/1584882175127613440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Until now, Western Union has been relatively cautious about entering blockchain technology.&nbsp;



In December 2018, former Western Union Global Money Transfer President Odilon Almeida <a href="https://www.westernunion.com/blog/en/blockchain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> adding cryptocurrencies as a customer option would be a big reach, as digital assets had not yet mastered governance, compliance and volatility and received global acceptance.



Added Almeida: “Cryptocurrency might become one more option for a way for assets to be exchanged between people and countries. If that happens, we would be ready to launch.”



It seems that now, four years later, the growing adoption of blockchain technology — alongside the increased competition in the international money transfer space — has finally pushed the financial services giant to tap crypto markets.&nbsp;



Earlier this year, centralized crypto exchange Coinbase had <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-launches-crypto-remittance-pilot-for-mexico/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">begun trialing</a> a remittance program for recipients in Mexico, challenging the market dominated by Western Union.&nbsp;



Coinbase claimed its services were <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-launches-crypto-remittance-pilot-for-mexico/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">significantly</a> cheaper than traditional cross-border payments and was looking to expand its services globally to the world’s 1.7 billion underbanked.



Even so, Western Union remains one of the <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/05/09/2438800/0/en/39-8-Billion-Global-Digital-Remittance-Market-Size-Share-Forecast-by-2028-Market-is-Fueled-by-Rising-Banking-Financial-Services-and-Insurance-Globally-Historic-Data-Industry-Emergi.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biggest players </a>in the global remittance industry, and Almeida has held onto the belief that “[Western Union is] better positioned to benefit from the crypto-currency movement in the long-term than any start-up.”



“Western Union is already better equipped to solve for such variables because it already moves money across 130 currencies and devotes substantial resources to all of those three challenges,” he said.



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Western Union Trademark Filings Signal Crypto, Web3 Exploration

Morgan Chittum

<div id="highlights-block_613a6c1ce2a49" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Roughly 70% of Salvadorans do not have traditional financial services like bank accounts, resulting in 24% of the country’s gross domestic product to come from remittances </li>
 <li>President Nayib Bukele said that bitcoin could save Salvadorans $400 million per year in remittance fees</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



El Salvador became the first country to <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/el-salvador-buys-550-bitcoins-officially-adopts-the-crypto-as-legal-tender/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">officially adopt bitcoin as a legal tender</a> on Tuesday. Residents can use the digital asset to pay their taxes, rent or a simple cup of coffee.



However, with unprecedented adoption comes criticism from vendors who are required to accept payment in bitcoin. Additionally, concerns stem from Salvadorans who believe the digital currency may be too volatile and can’t support their economy, which heavily relies on remittances.



Roughly 70% of Salvadorans do not have traditional financial services like bank accounts, resulting in 24% of the country’s gross domestic product to come from remittances. With an average minimum wage of roughly <a href="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/minimum-wage-in-el-salvador/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$1.50 an hour</a>, <a href="https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Remittance-Recipients-in-El-Salvador-A-Socioeconomic-Profile.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">94% of recipient household</a>s use wire transfers towards everyday necessities like food.



Residents often receive funds from money services providers like <a href="https://www.westernunion.com/content/dam/wu/EU/EN/feeTableRetailEN-ES.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Western Union</a> which can have fees of 30% per transfer depending on the sum being sent, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/09/el-salvador-bitcoin-move-could-cost-western-union-400-million-a-year.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported.</a> President Nayib Bukele said this is one reason why he advocated for bitcoin’s adoption in the first place. Digital wallet, Chivo, allows Salvadorans (living at home or abroad) the chance for free cross-border payments instead.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Bukele has said that these innovations will save Salvadorans $400 million annually in remittance fees.&nbsp;



“Decentralized finance will work in the best interests of those who rely upon remittances and are unduly burdened by the high commissions associated with sending money home, as these would be eliminated by cryptocurrency,” Edan Yago, contributor to DeFi protocol Sovryn, said in a email statement to Blockworks. &#8220;While human beings are naturally averse to the unknown, El Salvador has taken measures to reduce uncertainty, decrease the crypto currency&#8217;s volatility, and incentivize its use.”



Traditional financial institutions like Western Union and MoneyGram who make profit off of these transfers could be in for some trouble, potentially costing them the hundreds of millions that come from Salvadoran remittance fees.



“Anything that charges fees for any type of payment, it doesn&#8217;t have to be remittances, is going to be impacted [by bitcoin],” Validus Power Corp’s Greg Foss said, including merchant services like Visa. “[Companies] better adapt. Creative destruction is necessary for capitalism.”



However, in recent years, companies like Strike, founded by Jack Maller, have begun offering payment services that those who have historically dominated the remittance market have not.&nbsp;



Strike, which is built on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, allows users to send money anywhere in the world for free. (The Lightning Network can significantly cut down the fees and time it takes to send bitcoin, settling transactions via a network of user-hosted nodes and channels.)



“People will gravitate to the lowest cost alternative. It’s that simple,” Foss said.



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