The Stablecoin Advantage

For years, global payments have been stuck in the past. Slow. Expensive. Opaque. The kind of thing CFOs have had to tolerate—not because they liked it, but because there was no real alternative.

That’s changing.

A quiet shift is underway. One that’s moving fast and catching the attention of modern finance teams. It’s called the stablecoin advantage—and it’s reimagining how CFOs think about cross-border liquidity.

Let’s break down what’s happening, why it matters, and what forward-thinking finance teams are doing about it.

First, a quick refresher: What exactly is a stablecoin?

Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to track the value of traditional currencies like the US dollar or euro. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, which swing wildly in price, stablecoins aim to stay steady—1 token equals 1 dollar, give or take.

They run on blockchains, which means they’re fast, programmable, and global. But they’re not just for crypto traders anymore.

Today, companies like Visa, PayPal, and JPMorgan are using stablecoins behind the scenes to move money around faster, cheaper, and with far less friction.

 Why CFOs are paying attention

Stablecoins are solving very real finance headaches:

• Cross-border payments that settle in minutes, not days

• Drastically lower transaction and FX fees

• Clearer visibility into global cash positions

• No need to pre-fund foreign accounts or tie up working capital

• 24/7 liquidity—nights, weekends, holidays included

This isn’t crypto hype. It’s a better financial rail—wrapped in code, not paperwork.

The big players are already doing it

Let’s look at how this is playing out in practice.

JPMorgan’s corporate clients

Yes, even JPMorgan has jumped in. Its JPM Coin is now used by big corporates like Siemens to move cash between international subsidiaries instantly. No waiting for wires. No batching transfers. Just programmable treasury management, live and on-chain.

It’s essentially a smarter, faster version of internal money movement—automated with code, rather than emails and spreadsheets.

Visa + USDC

Visa has gone even further. It uses USDC, a dollar-backed stablecoin, to settle transactions with partners in real time. Some of its own treasury operations now run on stablecoins.

This means Visa isn’t just testing the waters—it’s rebuilding parts of its core infrastructure around digital dollars.

PayPal’s USD stablecoin (PYUSD)

In 2023, PayPal launched PYUSD, its own stablecoin. At first, people assumed it was a consumer play. But fast-forward to 2025, and PayPal is using it for international contractor payments, vendor payouts, and remittance flows.

By skipping traditional rails, they’re paying people faster and saving significantly on fees—especially in emerging markets.

Why this matters for finance teams

Here’s what stablecoins unlock for the modern CFO and finance function:

1. Faster settlement, globally

Waiting 3 days for a payment to land? That’s over. With stablecoins, settlement can happen in under 60 seconds, whether you’re paying a vendor in Singapore or moving funds between your US and EU entities.

This alone makes a huge difference to liquidity management. You no longer need to hold buffers “just in case” payments get delayed. The money is either there—or it isn’t. No more guessing.

2. Reduced fees and FX costs

Most cross-border payments are a game of death by a thousand cuts: wire fees, intermediary bank fees, poor FX rates.

Stablecoins strip most of that away. One simple digital token moves directly to the other side—no middlemen, no surprises. And if you’re settling in USD, there’s no need to convert currencies at all.

3. Better cash visibility

Because stablecoin payments happen on-chain, you can see every transaction as it happens. No waiting for bank statements. No mystery about where your funds are.

This gives treasury teams more control and tighter real-time visibility, which means better decisions—especially across time zones.

4. No more pre-funding foreign accounts

Traditionally, companies need to hold cash in local bank accounts just to make sure they can pay vendors or staff on time. It’s inefficient and ties up working capital.

With stablecoins, you only send funds when you need to. That cash can stay in your main treasury account until the moment it’s needed—and arrive in minutes.

Okay—but what about the risks?

Like any new technology, stablecoins come with things to consider.

• Regulation: Not all stablecoins are created equal. Stick to trusted ones like USDC, issued by companies that are regulated and publish audited reserves.
  

• Custody: Don’t hold stablecoins in a random wallet. Work with secure custodians or trusted fintech partners.
  

• Integration: You’ll need a plan to connect stablecoin flows to your existing systems—ERP, accounting, reporting, etc.
  

But these are solvable. Many enterprise-grade platforms (including banks) are already offering “stablecoin as a service” to make this easy.

The case for starting small

This isn’t about replacing your whole treasury stack tomorrow. It's about starting with one use case that actually hurts today.

Some examples:

• Paying a contractor in another country
  

• Moving funds between entities over the weekend
  

• Reducing fees on high-volume, low-value supplier payments
  

• Managing liquidity during global events or FX volatility
  

Pick one, pilot it with a small team, and build internal confidence.

Many CFOs we speak to start this way—quietly exploring stablecoin rails, building trust, and scaling over time.

A quick comparison

Here’s how stablecoins stack up against traditional cross-border payments:

Final thought: This isn’t a crypto play—it’s a finance strategy

Stablecoins aren’t about speculation. They’re about efficiency. And they’re becoming the rails finance teams can actually build on.

Whether you’re a high-growth startup or a global enterprise, the opportunity is the same:
Move money faster. Lower your costs. Gain better control.

Stablecoins won’t replace everything overnight. But they will reshape the parts of your operation that still feel too slow, too costly, or too manual.

Smart CFOs are already reimagining cross-border liquidity. The rest? They’ll be catching up soon enough.