Stablecoins and tokenized bank deposits are moving beyond limited blockchain experiments and into corporate payment and treasury operations, according to new survey findings reported by CoinDesk. The data points to growing institutional commitment, with cross-border business payments emerging as the main entry point and integration with existing banking systems likely to shape adoption.
Corporate and institutional adoption is accelerating
EY-Parthenon’s 2026 Blockchain Payments Survey covered 521 decision-makers from corporations and financial institutions. It found that 18% of corporates are already using stablecoins in production, twice the proportion recorded in the 2025 survey. Tokenized deposits, which represent commercial bank money recorded on a blockchain, were close behind, with 15% of corporates reporting adoption.
Financial institutions are also moving toward active participation. Sixty-nine percent now offer stablecoin services or plan to launch them within two years, compared with 30% in the previous survey. Among banks, 49% already offer or expect to offer tokenized deposits over the same period.
The results do not indicate that blockchain payments have reached mass adoption. They do show a shift in the way businesses are approaching the technology: rather than treating it solely as an experiment, more organizations are considering how it can fit into established payment, banking and treasury processes.
Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value against an underlying currency or other reference asset. Tokenized deposits serve a different function by bringing bank deposits into programmable blockchain-based systems. Both can be used to move value digitally, but they may suit different counterparties, networks and liquidity needs.
Cross-border payments lead the use cases
International business payments are the most common area of interest. Between 50% and 53% of all survey respondents said they had used or were exploring stablecoins or tokenized deposits for cross-border supplier payments or business-to-business payment acceptance.
The appeal is linked to problems companies regularly encounter when sending money across borders. In the survey:
- 56% cited slow processing and settlement;
- 52% cited foreign-exchange costs or spreads;
- 48% cited regulatory, sanctions and compliance delays; and
- 36% cited correspondent banking fees.
Financial institutions similarly identified faster settlement and lower costs as major reasons to explore both stablecoins and tokenized deposits. The potential use is not limited to transferring money. Tokenized asset settlement was the most frequently selected opportunity to build additional value on blockchain payment rails, cited by 63% of financial-institution respondents.
The survey also suggests that businesses and financial institutions are not necessarily choosing one digital payment method over the other. Among respondents interested in blockchain payments, 45% of corporates and 53% of financial institutions preferred using both stablecoins and tokenized deposits. Respondents pointed to flexibility and the likelihood that the two systems will coexist.
Stablecoins can provide access across wallets, platforms and public blockchain networks, while tokenized deposits can place commercial bank money into programmable environments. The appropriate option may therefore depend on the transaction, geography, counterparty and liquidity requirement.
Integration and distribution will shape the next phase
Businesses appear to prefer blockchain payment services that are built into systems they already use. Seventy-six percent of corporate respondents considered integration with enterprise resource planning, treasury-management and banking platforms very important or critical. Another 74% wanted blockchain payments fully incorporated into existing banking and payment interfaces, while only 14% preferred a separate digital-asset experience.
That preference gives established banks and payment providers a potential distribution advantage. Sixty-three percent of corporates said they would be likely to adopt blockchain payments if they were offered by their existing bank or payments provider. For those institutions, the survey highlights the importance of trusted relationships, secure execution, workable economics and regulatory readiness.
Programmable payments are another area of interest. Fifty-four percent of financial institutions already offer or plan to launch programmable payments within two years, and 75% view them as at least a moderate revenue opportunity. Their leading priorities include liquidity and cash-management automation and conditional payments, each cited by 51%; automated reconciliation, cited by 49%; and cross-border automation, cited by 47%.
Dollar dominance, euro projects and the current market
In a separate expert discussion, Sam Boboev of Fintech WrapUp said payment companies are exploring their own stablecoins to capture more value from activity on their platforms and connect merchant settlements, cross-border payouts and customer balances. He also emphasized that distribution may matter more than issuance: companies with established merchant networks and customer relationships could have an advantage in turning a token into a usable payment product.
Banking groups are pursuing similar strategies. Qivalis has brought together 37 financial institutions from 15 countries to develop a regulated euro stablecoin. Separately, a consortium of 21 financial institutions, including Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo, announced plans in September 2026 to launch a U.S. dollar stablecoin in the first half of 2027, with euro issuance also a priority.
Euro-denominated stablecoins remain a small part of the global market. Bank of Ireland data cited in the discussion put their share of global stablecoin circulation at 0.2% in May 2026. Euro projects could help European businesses avoid some foreign-exchange costs and currency exposure when using blockchain payments, but dollar liquidity and existing distribution networks remain significant advantages for established dollar-based issuers.
Moneyiar market data at 22 October 2026, 22:59 (+03:30), showed the asset listed as Stable at $0.0255988878, down 2.37% over 24 hours and 5.9% over seven days. The data does not identify the asset as a specific stablecoin or establish a link to the survey findings.
Taken together, the survey and expert comments indicate that the next stage of stablecoin adoption is likely to be measured less by standalone digital-asset applications and more by how smoothly these payment rails work inside familiar banking, corporate and treasury products.
