Stellar invests in MoneyGram, gets seat on board

Quick Take

After years of business partnership, the Stellar Development Foundation invested in payment firm MoneyGram International.
SDF will also get a seat on MoneyGram’s Board of Directors.

The Stellar Development Foundation, the organization building out the Stellar network, said Tuesday that it made a strategic investment in money transfer firm MoneyGram.

The move follows a commercial partnership the two entities forged two years ago, where MoneyGram partnered with SDF to facilitate crypto payments and to launch a cash-to-crypto service.

"During the recent go-private transaction with Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP), SDF became a minority investor in MGI," SDF CEO and Executive Director Denelle Dixon said in a statement. "The investment was made out of SDF's own cash treasury, the assets set aside to support the operations of the SDF, rather than the Enterprise Fund, a fund to invest in startups and earlier-stage companies. It is the first investment of its kind made from SDF's treasury."

Board of Directors

Dixon added that the investment gave SDF a seat on MoneyGram's Board of Directors and would help bolster MoneyGram's digital business expansion by "exploring blockchain technology."

The foundation did not respond to a request for comment from The Block about the amount of investment.

"Continuing to build strong partnerships with organizations across the payments space puts SDF one step closer to achieving our mission of creating equitable access to financial services," Dixon added.