U.S. Bank, a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (stock code: USB), is further advancing its proprietary stablecoin business. The bank recently completed a real-time cross-border payment test and began evaluating the potential applications of USBDC in payment, cash management and other business scenarios.
In a statement released on Wednesday, U.S. Bank, headquartered in Minneapolis, said that it used its independently developed U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin USBDC to complete a real-time transaction between its U.S. Bank entities located in North America and Europe. This also became an important test for the bank in exploring the practical applications of stablecoins.
The pilot mainly focused on the core functions of USBDC, including stablecoin minting, redemption, as well as token freezing and recovery operations. At the same time, U.S. Bank also validated its independently developed digital asset platform. The platform can connect blockchain networks with the bank’s existing financial, compliance, risk management and operational systems.
U.S. Bank Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gunjan Kedia said that this live pilot demonstrated the bank’s ability to further enhance global cash management and the movement of funds.
From a technical perspective, the cross-border transaction was completed on the Stellar (XLM) blockchain. U.S. Bank had previously announced in November that it would cooperate with Stellar Development Foundation to conduct a customized stablecoin issuance test, and this test is also a further advancement of that cooperation.
Stablecoins are gradually expanding from the cryptocurrency trading sector into traditional financial businesses. In the past, U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins were mainly used by cryptocurrency traders to transfer funds between exchanges, but their application scope is now extending to areas such as payments, remittances and cash management. Their around-the-clock settlement and faster fund transfer capabilities are also attracting the attention of financial institutions.
As global stablecoin regulatory frameworks continue to advance, more traditional banks are beginning to explore related businesses. Just last week, 21 financial institutions, including U.S. Bank, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and UBS, announced plans to establish a stablecoin issuer for payments and digital asset trading. The group is expected to launch a U.S. dollar stablecoin in the first half of 2027 and plans to subsequently expand issuance to other currencies.
The European market is also advancing bank stablecoin projects. In May this year, a group of European lenders established a consortium called Qivalis, which plans to issue a euro-backed stablecoin.
Currently, U.S. Bank is studying the potential applications of USBDC in multiple business areas, including cross-border cash management, liquidity management and collateral transfers. However, the bank has not yet announced a specific time for making USBDC available to customers, nor has it disclosed a timeline for large-scale commercial promotion.