- Stellar-based fintech Lightnet has entered into a collaboration with MoneyGram.
- The collaboration focuses on Bridgenet, a first-layer solution from Lightnet that will give MoneyGram a “wider selection of payout services” across Southeast Asia.
Lightnet Pte. Ltd, a Singapore-based fintech company that provides payment solutions based on Stellar’s blockchain technology, today announced a collaboration with MoneyGram. The news could create explosive buzz in the crypto community, as Stellar’s perceived nemesis, Ripple Labs, is known to be invested in MoneyGram to drive the adoption of its XRP based On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) solution.
MoneyGram gets another option with Lightnet
Lightnet announced that Bridgenet, a first-layer solution from Lightnet that connects Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) with MoneyGram’s money transfer services, is the focus of the collaboration. Bridgenet creates interoperability between existing bank rails and non-bank agent networks while bridging the gap between the different services. Suvicha Sudchai, chief product officer of Lightnet, said:
Through Bridgenet, Lightnet helps provide an even wider selection of payout services across Southeast Asia to MoneyGram’s customers via MoneyGram’s participating Money Transfer Operators.
Tridbodi Arunanondchai, Group CEO and Vice Chairman of Lightnet added.
The success of this collaboration reflects Lightnet’s commitment towards improving the efficiency, convenience, affordability and accessibility of cross-border remittances. Lightnet is working tirelessly to make these kinds of services available to everyone.
As the announcement states, MoneyGram already enables money to be sent “in more than 200 countries and territories, with 89 now digitally enabled.” “We are proud to work with Lightnet to increase financial inclusion and provide our customers with the best options for money transfer in ASEAN,” said Grant Lines, chief revenue officer at MoneyGram.
What is Stellar’s role in the collaboration?
There is no word about Stellar’s involvement in the official press release. However, it is known that Lightnet is based on the Stellar blockchain. As Chatchaval Jiaravanon, chairman of Lightnet, revealed in an interview with Forbes in January 2020, the company aims to process $50 billion in international payments annually via the Stellar blockchain by 2022.
We launched Lightnet to offer low-cost and instantaneous financial inclusivity and mobility to the four billion lives across Asia Pacific – all powered by Stellar’s fast, scalable, and sustainable blockchain technology.
Similar to Ripple, Lightnet addresses the global remittance market, focusing on Southeast Asia, a market dominated by millions of unbanked migrant workers who send money home to their families and suffer from the high fees of the SWIFT system.
Regarding whether Stellar’s native token, the Lumens (XLM), will be used as a bridge currency for Lightnet’s services, Interstellar CEO Mike Kennedy said in 2020 that “it’s an option” but not necessary since the transaction are crypto-agnostic. Kennedy also cited Stellar’s ability at the time to support stablecoins to eliminate price fluctuations and volatility in transactions.
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