Stellar powers corridors with MoneyGram and Circle
Stellar’s cross-border payment network continues to gain attention as its anchor system links blockchain settlement with real-world remittance corridors across several major markets.
The network was built for low-cost transfers, fast settlement and digital asset issuance, with regulated financial firms acting as bridges between fiat currency and Stellar-based tokens.
These regulated partners, known as anchors, issue digital representations of local currencies on Stellar and allow users to redeem those tokens through banks, mobile money services or cash payout points.
As of 2025, Stellar’s Anchor Directory listed dozens of active anchors supporting more than 170 fiat currencies, giving the network broad coverage across global payment routes.
Stellar differs from many smart contract-focused blockchains because its core protocol includes a built-in decentralised exchange that can swap assets between currencies during a payment.
This feature, known as path payments, allows one user to send money in one currency while the recipient receives another currency without manually arranging a separate foreign exchange trade.
MoneyGram remains one of Stellar’s most visible partners through MoneyGram Access, which connects cash deposits and withdrawals with USDC settlement on the Stellar network.
Under the MoneyGram model, a user can deposit cash at a participating location, have the value represented as USDC on Stellar, and allow another person to withdraw local currency elsewhere.
The arrangement gives users access to blockchain-based settlement without requiring them to understand wallets, private keys or on-chain transactions.
Circle also plays a central role in the system by issuing USDC and EURC natively on Stellar, giving anchors access to dollar and euro-denominated stablecoin liquidity.
USDC has become a key settlement asset for Stellar-based remittance corridors because it offers a stable bridge between two different local currencies.
EURC serves a similar purpose for euro-linked payment flows, particularly where European banking rails are involved.
Stellar’s anchor network also includes partners such as Tempo, Settle Network, Bitso, Coins.ph, Cowrie, ClickPesa, Anclap, BlindPay, Zeam Money, Vibrant and Flutterwave.
Bitso supports Latin American exchange and remittance routes, while Coins.ph gives Stellar exposure to Philippine peso corridors tied to the country’s large overseas worker remittance market.
Cowrie and ClickPesa help connect African currency and mobile money systems to Stellar-based settlement, adding regional reach beyond major banking centres.
The model gives Stellar a distributed payment network built around many regional fintechs and financial institutions rather than a small group of large banking partners.
Supporters argue that this structure could strengthen Stellar’s position in remittances, stablecoin settlement and tokenised real-world assets as more payment firms connect local rails to blockchain infrastructure.
At the time of reporting, Stellar price was $0.1933.