U.S. Bank Pilots USBDC Stablecoin for Cross-Border Payments on Stellar

TLDR:

• U.S. Bank tested USBDC, its dollar-backed stablecoin, for a North America to Europe payment.
• The pilot ran on the Stellar blockchain under a 2025 partnership between U.S. Bank and PwC.
• U.S. Bank joins Open USD, a stablecoin consortium spanning more than 140 banks and fintech firms.
• Cornerstone’s DeSanctis expects bank consortiums, not solo coins, to define stablecoin’s future.

U.S. Bank has completed a test payment using USBDC, its dollar-backed stablecoin. The transaction connected North America and Europe through the Stellar blockchain network.

It marks an early step toward broader stablecoin adoption among traditional banks. The Minneapolis-based lender built USBDC through a 2025 partnership with Stellar and PwC.

U.S. Bank also participates in Open USD, a growing global stablecoin consortium spanning more than 140 banks, fintechs and crypto companies.

U.S. Bank Broadens Its Stablecoin Push

The pilot moved digital assets across borders while staying inside U.S. Bank’s compliance framework. U.S. Bank first partnered with Stellar and PwC in late 2025 to build USBDC.

The stablecoin was minted, paid and redeemed entirely within the bank’s internal systems. The test signaled growing institutional interest in stablecoin use.

Jamie Walker, U.S. Bank’s digital assets lead, called the pilot “another step forward.” He said U.S. Bank’s focus is on solutions that “solve real client challenges” while maintaining safety and reliability.

Walker said USBDC works alongside the Open Standard and Zelle consortiums to address “distinct client needs and use cases.” He added that U.S. Bank keeps “a long-term focus on interoperability” across digital asset networks.

USBDC forms one piece of a broader U.S. Bank stablecoin strategy. The bank provides custody for Anchorage Digital Bank’s stablecoin platform.

It also offers bitcoin custody and a cryptocurrency ETF. U.S. Bank plans to keep working with GENIUS Act-compliant stablecoin issuers.

U.S. Bank is part of the Open USD consortium alongside more than 140 firms. Members include BNY, Huntington, Citizens, American Express, Visa and Mastercard.

Stripe, Adyen, Affirm, Klarna and Coinbase are also involved in the group. Stellar, citing American Banker, called the stablecoin “a faster and cheaper means” for cross-border payments.

Why Stablecoins Still Trail Bank Adoption

Stablecoins from crypto firms such as Circle and Tether still lead the market. Banks have largely waited for clearer regulation before issuing their own stablecoin products.

Stablecoin payments remain limited despite rising interest from financial institutions. Remittances, B2B payments and capital markets settlement are the most cited use cases.

McKinsey data shows stablecoins account for less than one percent of remittance volume. B2B and capital markets payments use stablecoins even less, below 0.01 percent.

Banks instead favor tokenized deposits, viewed as a less risky alternative. Research shows 24 of the top 50 banks now track tokenized deposits.

Tony DeSanctis of Cornerstone Advisors expects stablecoins to grow through scale and cooperation. He said stablecoins “will become a product of scale and interoperability.”

DeSanctis likened the outcome to Zelle’s rise as a shared network. He added that “a consortium of banks or payment processors” will likely be the end state.

Smaller stablecoin projects may struggle against larger, more interoperable consortium solutions. DeSanctis said “smaller consortiums or individual banks offering coins” are likely to lose ground.

He said larger solutions that “support multiple institutions” are positioned to prevail. U.S. Bank’s pilot shows how traditional lenders are testing these waters.

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