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CompoSecure Inc., a provider of metal payment cards and security technology, is integrating its Arculus cold-storage wallet with MoneyGram Access, which allows digital-wallet users to convert cash into digital currencies. These include such media as USD Coin, a stablecoin backed by U.S. dollars and dollar-denominated assets.
In addition, CompoSecure announced a grant from the Stellar Development Foundation, a non-profit that supports the development of the Stellar network, to enable payments over traditional payment-card rails directly from crypto wallets. The Stellar network is a decentralized public blockchain for cross-border payments and financial transactions. It allows users to tokenize and trade any form of value, including national currencies.
The integration with MoneyGram is expected to help facilitate consumer access to, and the transfer of, digital assets like stablecoins, especially among the unbanked, Somerset, New Jersey-based CompoSecure says. MoneyGram serves more than 50 million people in more than 200 countries and territories, and processes more than $200 billion in transactions annually.
“For consumers that don’t have a bank account, it can be challenging to send and receive money,” says a CompoSecure spokesperson. “MoneyGram is a leader in enabling consumers to send money anywhere if they don’t have a bank account.
The deal also gives consumers a new way to “leverage” cryptocurrency, whether for sending money or making a purchase using the Arculus wallet, the spokesperson adds. Earlier this month, CompoSecure began enabling users of Arculus wallets to make purchases at merchants that accept cryptocurrencies.
A cold-storage wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet that stores the user’s private keys offline, which makes digital assets stored in the wallet less vulnerable to compromise by cyber criminals, advocates say.
“Better access to cryptocurrency, whether to use it for making a purchase or sending money, is valuable [to consumers] in general,” the CompoSecure spokesperson says.
In related news, USD Coin platform provider Circle Internet Financial announced plans to launch a new cross-border payments platform it says is intended to compete with fiat payment rails, such as the Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. networks. The launch of the new platform is a step in Circle’s strategy to expand beyond crypto-native markets and challenge legacy financial-infrastructure providers, the company says.
The launch plans come hard on the heels of Circle’s filing to go public on the New York Stock Exchange. Circle reported $1.68 billion in revenue and $155.7 million in net income for 2024.
