Coinbase Partners With Citi to Expand Stablecoin Payment Access for Corporates

Coinbase and Citigroup are expanding stablecoin payment services for corporate clients, linking blockchain-based payment rails with Citi’s banking infrastructure to support faster settlement between digital assets and fiat currencies.

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Citi Adds Stablecoin Payments Through Coinbase

Citigroup is partnering with Coinbase to let institutional clients accept stablecoin payments through Spring by Citi. Bloomberg reported that merchants using Citi’s payment platform will be able to receive stablecoins at checkout.

Coinbase will provide the payment infrastructure and automatically convert the stablecoins into fiat currency. Citi will then settle the funds as the bank of record, so merchants will not need to manage crypto directly.

The setup enables big firms to take digital payments without establishing their blockchains. It also allows merchants to continue with their usual fiat settlement procedures while customers opt for stablecoins.

Debopama Sen, Citi’s Head of Payments, said the bank wants to support payment systems across traditional and digital networks. She said the goal is to create infrastructure that is “seamless” and “interoperable.”

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Coinbase Virtual Accounts Use Citi Banking Rails

The partnership also enhances Citi’s presence within Coinbase’s payments infrastructure. Coinbase selected Citi’s Virtual Account Wallet to support Coinbase Virtual Accounts for business customers.

Those are accounts that offer bank-like services for receiving, holding and transferring money. Coinbase’s platform can also provide a seamless conversion of incoming fiat into stablecoins.

Citi provides the regulated banking platform which powers the virtual accounts. In the meantime, Coinbase processes the digital asset layer and stablecoin conversion.

According to Coinbase’s Head of Infrastructure Product, Alec Lovett, the setup “provides a fast and compliant link between fiat and stablecoins for businesses. Users can switch between the two systems without having to deal with separate sets of payment stacks, he added.

Partnership Targets Institutional Stablecoin Use

The companies are initially launching the new services in the United States. Additional functions are expected to roll out in the coming months.

In addition, Citi continues to build its own tokenised payment system for corporate customers. The bank has added its blockchain-based token service in Japan and the United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, Wall Street behemoth Citigroup has also made changes to its price targets for Bitcoin and Ethereum for the next 12 months, continuing its attention on digital asset markets.

Brett Tejpaul, Head of Coinbase Institutional, said the partnership connects Coinbase customers with bank-grade fiat infrastructure. Meanwhile, Citi clients are able to make payments using stablecoins without having to develop their own crypto infrastructure.

The partnership will provide institutional clients with another avenue to pay with stablecoins while maintaining their settlement with regulated banking services.

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