Stablecoins are really new payment rails. Faster, more secure, and less costly. While frequently lumped into the crypto sector, stablecoins are just a more efficient way to move value – payments and transfers.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, a recent survey indicates that 75% of consumers would try stablecoins – if offered by their bank.
The data was provided by FIS, a firm that provides core banking infrastructure, which also enables stablecoins via a partnership with Circle, which was announced earlier this year. Circle is the issuer of USDC, the second most popular dollar-based stablecoin in use today. So interests are aligned as some banks make the transition to digital finance.
FIS surveyed 1,000 consumers in the US who expressed a preference for working with an established bank rather than “unregulated providers.” Of note is the fact that all IS payment stablecoin issuers will soon be regulated under the GENIUS Act, or they will not be able to issue stablecoins at all.
The survey also shares:
- More than two-thirds (67.6%) of surveyed consumers experienced at least one payment problem in the past six months,
- 41,9% experienced slow processing for online purchases
- And 35.3% experienced high fees for sending money to family and friends
- Card declines at checkout were reported by 30.2%
- Peer-to-peer payments (45.1%) and online shopping (44.3%) were the primary intended uses for stablecoins. In contrast, international money transfers, despite being the current strength of stablecoin infrastructure, attracted interest from only 11.9% of respondents.
While some banks are already pursuing stablecoin services, there is always the risk that others will be slow to adopt digital assets and get left behind. Even in today’s digital finance landscape, many traditional banks offer limited services and terrible customer service. Ignoring stablecoins will make Fintechs look even better.
