Three brand filings were submitted by WU dated October 18 to the USPTO, with the majority of the submissions being in the Web3 sector. A copyright lawyer named Michael Kondoudis remarked that Western Union’s papers suggest the business may be attempting to create its proprietary virtual currencies and manage electronic vaults.
Western Union could be considering offering electronic money transfer services, as well as “processing of products and futures contracts, bitcoin, and electronic resources,” according to Kondoudis.
Western Union’s Statistics and Numbers
In 2021, Western Union executed huge amounts in intra- and inter-billing transactions, making it one of the top companies in the trade and capital sector. Since WU still faces competitive pressure from Mastercard and Visa, market experts have lauded the prospective transition to virtual commodities as one which might enhance the acceptance indicators for the sector.
When WU’s CFO, Hikmet Ersek informed Bloomberg in 2014 that perhaps the company “could explore utilizing BTC in the long term,” this was an encouraging indicator of the acceptance of virtual assets. The firm partnered with Xrp to resolve payments in a test that did not lead to a comprehensive rollout a year afterward.
Upon stating that it was not going to enable functionality for electronic money movements in the foreseeable years ahead, the company quenched the ardor of fans of electronic assets.
In 2018, Ersek stated, “The users tell them exactly what they want.”.” “Users shouldn’t be using cryptocurrency to pony up for their medical expenditures.”
Western Union is Running a Little Behind
Despite the substantial advancements that its counterparts have achieved in the sector, WU’s move to enter the digital money market looks to have come just a little bit too late. Electronic commodities have been welcomed by giant payment companies and are now a component of overall consumer offers.
Visa reportedly handled more than $2 billion in payments using crypto certificates in 2021, whilst Mastercard has partnered with USD Coin (USDC) to make it easier for customers to utilize electronic money at checkout.
Western Union will have a tough time catching up to all these transaction businesses’ dominance of the industry given their competitive advantage. Even while it is trying to cover, Western Union has significant advantages, including a client base of 150 million people in 200 nations and a model for adopting electronic assets developed by the forerunner companies.
