We hope you had a chance to perform the stablecoin exercise from last month’s newsletter. (Link here)
This month, stablecoins are no longer just a fintech headline. They are moving into board rooms, treasury discussions, and in some cases, business operating accounts. Whether we like it or not, some of your commercial customers are already exploring them.
If that trend continues, your Treasury Management team will start receiving questions. Not from crypto enthusiasts, but from CFOs, controllers, and business owners trying to understand how digital dollars intersect with traditional banking.
Here are a few reasons your business customers may reach out to you regarding stablecoins and how to think about each conversation.
They Need Expertise
Most business owners are not looking to speculate. They are looking to solve operational problems. Faster payments. Lower fees. Cross-border efficiency. Reduced settlement risk.Stablecoins, particularly U.S. dollar-backed versions, are often positioned as a solution for real-time global payments and programmable cash management. Companies such as Circle (issuer of USDC) and Tether (issuer of USDT) promote stablecoins as digital representations of dollars held in reserve.
Your customers may ask: Are these really backed one-to-one? What are the counterparty risks? How are reserves structured? What happens if there is a regulatory shift?
They may not expect you to have every answer. But they will expect informed guidance. Even a simple framework is helpful:
What problem are you trying to solve? Is there a traditional banking product that already addresses it? What new risks are introduced? How does this fit within your internal controls and treasury policy?
This is where Treasury Management shifts from product sales to strategic advisory.
They See You as a Trusted Advisor
When uncertainty rises, customers do not run toward the newest technology. They run toward trusted relationships.
Community banks in particular benefit from this dynamic. If your team has helped them with ACH controls, Positive Pay, account structures, and liquidity management, they already see you as their cash flow partner.
Stablecoins introduce new layers of risk: Operational risk (wallet security, private key management), Regulatory risk, Liquidity risk, and Reputation risk.
Business owners may not want to move forward until they hear your perspective. That does not mean you must endorse stablecoin usage. It does mean you should be able to articulate: The current regulatory posture, the difference between stablecoins and traditional deposits, the fact that stablecoins are not FDIC insured deposits, and the tradeoffs compared to wires, ACH, RTP, or FedNow.
Your credibility will not come from hype. It will come from clarity.
Final Thought
Stablecoins are not simply a payments trend. They represent a new interface between traditional banking and programmable digital assets.
Some of your customers will ignore them. Others will experiment quietly. A few may adopt them meaningfully.
Your role is not to promote or dismiss. It is to guide.
Treasury Management teams that invest time in understanding stablecoins, regulatory posture, operational risk, and customer motivations will be far better positioned when the phone rings.
And it will ring.
- Marci and Tim
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