Why CFOs Want Stablecoins Through Banks, Not Wallets

The emerging model of treasury and payments optimization for adventurous CFOs isn’t crypto-native finance. It’s bank-native stablecoins.

To understand the appeal, it can help to reframe the conversation. For many CFOs, stablecoins are not about crypto but about cash management. Finance and treasury teams are not trying to hold stablecoins as assets—they are trying to use them to capture money movement and settlement efficiency.

Findings in the March PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Stablecoins Gain Ground: Why CFOs See More Promise There Than in Crypto,” reveal that more than four in 10 (42%) middle market companies have at least discussed, tested or used stablecoins. More than one in 10 (13%) report actual stablecoin use.

Increasingly, their preferred path to that improvement is not through crypto-native wallets or FinTech intermediaries, but through banks. Trust in the channel, it turns out, matters for finance chiefs, and banks offer familiar controls, integrated reporting and compliance guardrails that plug into existing treasury workflows.

Crypto-native wallets, while efficient, introduce unfamiliar risks: private key management, fragmented reporting, uncertain custody standards and evolving regulatory interpretations.

Banks, by contrast, provide a trust layer that CFOs already understand. They offer established custody frameworks, standardized reporting and compliance processes that align with existing audit requirements. When stablecoins are accessed through a bank, they are effectively wrapped in the institutional safeguards that finance teams depend on.

This is not simply about risk aversion. It is about operational coherence. A CFO does not want a parallel financial system; they want a more efficient version of the one they already run.

See also: Banks and Stablecoin Wallets Battle for Digital Cash’s Front Door

The Limits of Decentralization in Corporate Finance

Stablecoins are increasingly being positioned as a layer within existing financial infrastructure rather than a replacement for it. Banks, payment providers and regulators are all working to integrate these digital assets into established systems, creating what some observers describe as a hybrid monetary ecosystem.

PYMNTS data reinforces this trajectory. Nearly half of CFOs say that integration with major banks would make stablecoins more relevant to their operations, while 67% point to regulatory and compliance uncertainty as a key hurdle to overcome.

Notably, far fewer cite speed or cost savings as decisive factors. The implication is striking: adoption will be driven not by performance, but by trust.

“We don’t start with the asset,” Biswarup Chatterjee, global head of partnerships and innovation, Citi Services at Citi, told PYMNTS. “We typically start with our client need, and then we look at the pros and cons of each type of asset or financing instrument.”

Stablecoins offer near-instant settlement and 24/7 availability. But the real breakthrough occurs when these capabilities are integrated directly into treasury workflows. Bank-native stablecoin solutions can be embedded into cash management systems, allowing treasurers to move funds seamlessly between fiat and digital formats without leaving their existing platforms.

After all, the value of speed is contingent on certainty. A payment that settles instantly but introduces legal or operational ambiguity is not necessarily an improvement. CFOs prioritize predictability: knowing when funds will arrive, how they will be recorded, and what risks are attached.

See also: Mastercard’s BVNK Deal Highlights the 4 Barriers to Stablecoin Adoption

A Transitional Model for a Hybrid Financial Future

The rise of bank-integrated stablecoins suggests that the future of corporate finance may not be defined by a wholesale shift to decentralized systems, but by a hybrid model that blends traditional and digital infrastructure.

Banks are uniquely positioned to facilitate this transition. They have the relationships, the regulatory standing and the technological resources to bridge the gap between fiat and digital assets. By incorporating stablecoins into their offerings, they can provide clients with access to new capabilities while maintaining continuity with existing systems.

“Two years ago, you had to reexplain what a stablecoin is,” Nassim Eddequiouaq, CEO at Bastion, told PYMNTS in an interview last month. “Now companies come with hard data. They know when they want to launch, where the stablecoin will be used, which corridors matter for treasury flows, and which jurisdictions they can’t accept microtransactions from.”

Still, as it relates to cross-border payments, PYMNTS covered earlier this week how the broader story around the space’s innovation is that many of the benefits associated with stablecoins, such as speed, lower costs and flexibility, are now being delivered within the existing financial system. They are being delivered in a way that is integrated with regulatory frameworks, banking relationships and enterprise workflows.

The PYMNTS Intelligence and Citi report “Chain Reaction: Regulatory Clarity as the Catalyst for Blockchain Adoption” found that blockchain’s next leap will be shaped by regulation; that evolving guidance is beginning to create the foundations for safe, scalable blockchain adoption; while at the same time, implementation challenges continue to complicate progress.