More Than Money
Learn how innovation is helping people support family and friends across borders with greater confidence, flexibility, and choice.
Food has a remarkable ability to connect us to our heritage. For Sandra Salcedo, who moved from Colombia to Madrid eight years ago, that connection is folded into every pastry she sells at her bakery—a place where people can come together to share memories, stories, and of course, a taste of home.
But food isn’t the only way Sandra maintains her connection with Colombia. Thousands of miles away, her uncle Byron relies on the money his niece sends home every month. For Byron, who is unable to work due to illness, Sandra’s contributions help pay for everyday essentials, while providing greater stability for tomorrow. Like millions of people supporting family and friends across borders, she is helping create opportunities that extend beyond a single transfer. As Sandra explains, the money she sends home is her way of being there, and of keeping her uncle company. In her own words: “It represents peace of mind.”
Sandra’s story is part of a wider global tapestry. Every year, more than 280 million people send hundreds of billions of dollars home to support the people they left behind. For people like Sandra and Byron, the technology behind a transfer may be invisible. What matters is that support reaches loved ones reliably and when it is needed.
On the surface, an international money transfer might appear simple. Enter an amount, choose a recipient, and, within minutes, the money arrives thousands of miles away. But behind each exchange lies a vast financial network most people never see. When money moves across borders, it must navigate different currencies, banks, payment systems, and settlement processes.
For more than 175 years, Western Union has helped people stay connected across borders, supporting families, communities, and businesses wherever opportunity takes them. “You could [...] send money to Mexico,” CEO Devin McGranahan explains. “That’s one corridor. We do that in 50,000 corridors.”
Spanning 400,000 locations and more than a billion bank accounts, those corridors create a network of almost incomprehensible scale. Moving money across it is equally complicated. “When we move the money, we enable the transaction before the money actually gets there,” McGranahan adds. “The sheer complexity [is] mind boggling.”
Yet, despite its global ubiquity, access to personal banking is far from universal. There are around 1.3 billion adults who remain outside the traditional banking system due to practical and economic barriers. For people relying on money sent from overseas, these barriers can make all the difference. Remittances pay for clothing, power, food, and medicine. So, when groups of people are excluded from financial systems, the consequences extend far beyond finances, affecting health, opportunity, and overall well-being.
As Ashley Olson Onyango, Head of Inclusive Digital Finance at GSMA, puts it, the goal goes beyond simply expanding access to financial services. It’s about what that access enables. “The new measure of success is [...] helping people manage daily financial payments, plan for the future, and also have confidence in their financial lives.”
As more people seek flexible ways to participate in the global economy, new forms of digital finance are expanding what's possible. The goal isn't simply new technology, but giving people more choice in how they access, hold, and use their money.
One example is Stablecard, Western Union's new way to help more people access U.S. dollar value digitally. Designed to expand financial choice, it allows eligible users to hold USDPT stablecoins in a digital wallet, giving them greater flexibility in how they manage and move money. For people living in countries where local currencies fluctuate significantly, having the option to decide when and how to hold, spend, and convert stablecoins could offer much-needed agency and flexibility. It is just one example of how changing unseen financial infrastructures can make a tangible difference to people’s lives.
Connecting more people to financial services is only part of the challenge. Like Ashley highlighted, real progress should be measured by whether this access actually translates to better financial health.
The next chapter of financial connectivity won’t simply be about moving money further or faster. It will be about helping more people participate in the opportunities that money creates. Because whether someone is supporting family and friends, building a business, or planning for what's next, connection becomes most powerful when it helps people move forward.
Connection has always been at the heart of Western Union's mission. Learn more about USDPT, and how we're expanding financial choice and opportunity for customers around the world.
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