Stablecoins gain traction as treasury tool
Treasury teams are increasingly using stablecoins to manage cross-border payments and currency exposure, driven by the high cost of currency volatility for
Internationally trading small and medium-sized enterprises lost an average of £71,600 over the past year due to currency volatility, according to research from Bibby Financial Services cited by Finextra. This pressure is pushing treasury teams to seek more efficient methods for handling cross-border payments, liquidity, and currency risk.
Stablecoins are now being considered a practical tool in this context. They offer a way to transfer value across borders quickly while maintaining a more predictable value compared to other digital assets. These digital currencies can also enable near-real-time settlement and reduce friction associated with traditional payment systems like the correspondent banking network.
The regulatory landscape diverges
However, the regulatory environment for stablecoins is not uniform. Brazil's recent restriction on using stablecoins for cross-border payments illustrates how quickly rules can change. Some jurisdictions are establishing frameworks for digital asset settlement, while others are imposing stricter limits.
This divergence is leading businesses to adopt more flexible financial strategies. They are building payment systems that can handle regulatory fragmentation without sacrificing operational efficiency.
Adopting a hybrid treasury model
Forward-thinking businesses are moving towards hybrid settlement models. These models combine traditional fiat currencies like the US dollar, euro, and British pound with regulated digital assets. This approach allows companies to avoid choosing between compliance and efficiency.
Operationally, treasury teams use stablecoins as a utility to optimize working capital and free up trapped liquidity. In traditional cross-border payments, value moves through multiple intermediaries, which can tie up cash for days. Digital asset networks can combine payment instruction and final settlement into a single, near-instant transaction.
The value of this hybrid model is particularly clear in regions with less developed banking infrastructure. Stablecoin usage is already concentrated in emerging markets across Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America when adjusted for GDP. For international businesses, maintaining multiple settlement routes is becoming a basic requirement for financial resilience.
Building flexible payment infrastructure
In practice, treasury teams are rethinking how their payment infrastructure is structured. They are building systems that allow switching between stablecoin networks and traditional bank rails. The choice depends on the recipient, jurisdiction, and regulatory environment. Teams are also managing fiat and digital asset liquidity more dynamically.
The challenge is ensuring this flexibility does not create a new problem of fragmented infrastructure. Managing multiple banks, vendors, wallets, and payment networks can burden treasury operations.
The proposed solution is a unified infrastructure that brings multiple settlement routes into a single workflow. This allows payments to be routed around banking or regulatory obstacles while maintaining visibility and control. Stablecoins are not replacing traditional banking infrastructure but are adding another layer of flexibility to it. As cross-border payment demand grows, the organisations best positioned will be those operating across both traditional and digital asset systems.
