Should traditional banks compete with or integrate stablecoin infrastructure before they become systemically important?
Anthony Yeung, CCO at CoinCover Traditional banks are already likely to be fully integrated with existing payment rails and networks. Stablecoins provide an opportunity to add to those rails, whether for the bank’ s own benefit or for their customers. The question is perhaps not whether to integrate, but rather what form that integration would take and how it would surface in the bank’ s product suite.
Retno Widuri, Head of Crypto, at Unlimit It’ s clear that banks can no longer sit on the sidelines. Stablecoins are already becoming a backbone of global payment infrastructure. Standing still is the most dangerous strategy of all.
The priority is for banks to innovate and find where they can add value – from turning stablecoins into yieldbearing treasury products to offering custody, compliance, and instant settlement services. Working with fintech partners will hold the key. This will enable banks to adapt and stay at the heart of this transformation rather than risk being left behind.
Jeremy McDougall, Strategic Solution Consulting Director at ACI Worldwide Traditional banks should not view stablecoins as competition, but as infrastructure to be integrated.
“ The question should be what form a bank’ s integration would take and how it would surface in the bank’ s product suite”
Anthony Yeung, CCO, CoinCover
They are already moving from fringe potential to mainstream usage, and their programmability and low-cost settlement offer clear advantages.
Stablecoins shouldn’ t be seen as an‘ either-or’ proposition. The real question isn’ t which payment type will“ win”, but how they can co-exist to deliver reliability, stability and choice for consumers.
Financial institutions must step away from a single-rail mindset and instead build strategies that treat the likes of stablecoins, tokenised bank deposits and real-time payments as complementary tools. Integrating stablecoin infrastructure now will help banks remain competitive and resilient as the payments landscape evolves.
62 November 2025