Stellar Development Foundation Joins Forces with MoneyGram: Paving the Way for Fintech Evolution

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has become a minority investor in MoneyGram International, a payments provider.

Denelle Dixon, the CEO and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation, announced the new investment in a post on August 15th. She described the decision to provide funds to MoneyGram as straightforward.

The investment was made using the SDF's own cash reserves, which are typically set aside to support the foundation's operations. This choice was made instead of using Stellar’s Enterprise Fund, which is usually used for investments in startups and early-stage companies.

Although Dixon did not disclose specific financial details, she did mention that the investment grants SDF a seat on MoneyGram’s board of directors.

She elaborated that SDF's investment will help MoneyGram expand its digital business and explore blockchain technology, highlighting the significance of this move for MoneyGram's evolution into a digital-focused leader in the fintech sector.

The collaboration between the Stellar Development Foundation and MoneyGram dates back to 2019, and a formal commercial partnership was established in 2021.

In November 2022, MoneyGram enabled users in the United States to engage in cryptocurrency transactions through its mobile app.

Additionally, in July 2023, MoneyGram announced a new account deposit service for consumers in Venezuela through a partnership with local bank Banesco.

Stellar’s native token, XLM (Stellar XLM), experienced a 4.4% drop in response to the investment news, trading at $0.129 at the time of writing, according to data from Cointelegraph.

XLM had received a boost following a partial court victory for Ripple but has since declined by 28%. It remains 85% below its all-time high of $0.875 reached in January 2018.