Interest in stablecoin adoption is growing across the payments industry, and credit unions (CUs) are no exception. Eighteen percent of Gen Z and millennial CU members are very or extremely receptive to paying with cryptocurrency, indicating broader interest in digital payment alternatives, and 33% of CU executives expect stablecoins to be very or extremely significant to payments and product strategy over the next six years.
This growing interest is mirrored in regulatory developments that are bringing these digital assets into the mainstream. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, in particular, is accelerating the conversation around stablecoin adoption. For example, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently finalized requirements concerning reserves, redemption, and risk management, and the Federal Reserve has proposed new rules around applications and reserve asset backing. Together, these regulatory developments are bringing greater clarity to the evolving framework under which banks and credit unions to evaluate where stablecoins could fit into their payment operations.
Many payment technology companies are developing offerings to meet these pressures. My company, Volante Technologies, for example, recently announced a strategic collaboration with Circle Internet Group, Inc. (Circle) to bring USDC workflows into our payments platform, helping financial institutions evaluate how stablecoin activity could operate alongside their existing payment infrastructure.
The GENIUS Act Takes Shape
The GENIUS Act also establishes a regulatory framework under which eligible subsidiaries of federally insured credit unions may seek approval to become permitted payment stablecoin issuers, subject to National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) licensing, regulation, and supervision. Importantly, the requirements for issuing stablecoins are distinct from the question of how CUs can incorporate existing stablecoins, such as USDC, into their payment services.
While the NCUA's CU-specific requirements remain proposed rules rather than final rules, they provide important context for the stablecoin discussion. In February, the NCUA proposed an application process for eligible CU-affiliated entities seeking approval to issue payment stablecoins. This was followed by a supplemental proposal in May concerning operational and risk management standards.
Yet despite CU-specific regulatory developments, many related organizations are concerned about whether the rules make CU participation in the stablecoin landscape practical. The Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) is one such organization and has repeatedly called for requirements that are workable, risk-based, and appropriate for credit union structures. Following the OCC’s final rule, DCUC urged the NCUA to tailor capital, liquidity, and reporting requirements to risk and to account for credit unions’ cooperative structure.
At the center of these concerns is whether CUs will have the same opportunities to offer emerging payment capabilities as larger financial institutions. Beyond the question of issuance, CUs must also consider whether they can introduce stablecoin payment capabilities without taking on the infrastructure costs and operational complexity that larger banks are often better equipped to absorb.
Where Stablecoins Fit into CU Payments
The potential implications of these structural barriers become clearer when examining the value stablecoins could provide to CUs. For example, one area that many CUs struggle with is liquidity. It is often difficult for smaller financial institutions to offset outbound transactions against incoming payment volume. Stablecoins will not eliminate the need to fund outgoing transactions, but they could offer greater flexibility in certain cross-border and treasury scenarios. Their ability to support 24/7 settlement and more direct value transfers may prove valuable where traditional payment routes are unavailable, slow, or liquidity-intensive.
Another potential application is international transfers, including U.S.-dollar salary payments to people living abroad, particularly where access to traditional USD banking is limited. However, the advantage depends on the entire payment journey. A stablecoin may move quickly on-chain, but conversion costs, local liquidity, and the efficiency of the off-ramp can offset that benefit if the recipient ultimately needs funds in a local bank account.
As regulatory frameworks develop, capitalizing on these opportunities will depend on how well the digital asset fits within existing payment operations. ACH, FedNow, and the RTP network will remain important components of the payments environment. Introducing stablecoins as a separate, siloed offering adds operational complexity that may prove difficult for CUs with smaller payment operations teams to manage.
Those challenges extend beyond connecting to a new payment rail. CUs also need to screen and validate beneficiary wallets, reconcile on-chain transactions with internal ledgers, and monitor payments that settle around the clock, even when existing systems operate on business-day cycles. Because on-chain transfers are generally final, preventive controls are especially important to protecting members and avoiding potentially costly errors.
In fact, 40% of surveyed CUs cited core/integration limitations as barriers to cryptocurrency engagement, highlighting the broader challenges of deploying new digital assets. That is one of the challenges the Volante and Circle collaboration is designed to help financial institutions evaluate and address.
Connecting Digital Assets to Existing Rails
Volante partnered with Circle to help financial institutions evaluate how stablecoin payment and settlement capabilities can be integrated into their existing infrastructure and operations. Through the collaboration, Volante clients will be able to evaluate USDC workflows alongside their existing payment rails, operational controls, and on- and off-ramp requirements, without having to build a separate digital-asset stack.
For CUs, the longer-term opportunity is to evaluate stablecoins alongside ACH, FedNow, RTP, and other payment options, selecting the most appropriate route according to cost, liquidity, settlement timing, and the recipient's needs. The initial workflows that Volante clients will be able to evaluate through the Volante–Circle collaboration will include beneficiary wallet registration, funding, minting, redemption, notifications, and wallet-to-wallet payment execution.
From Regulatory Momentum to Payment Innovation
The goal is not for stablecoins to replace ACH, FedNow, RTP, or other established payment rails, but to serve as another option CUs can use where they improve the end-to-end payment outcome—most notably in cross-border payments and emerging digital-dollar services, where traditional rails are slower, costlier, or less accessible. This could open new revenue and service opportunities, while also introducing potential pressure on deposit relationships and existing payment revenues if more value begins moving outside traditional bank accounts. As the regulatory environment develops, CUs will need the flexibility to assess both the opportunities and trade-offs without adding operational complexity their teams cannot absorb.
About the author
Maharaja Subramanian (MS) is Senior Director and Head of Product Management for the Americas at Volante Technologies. With over 20 years of experience in payments modernization and banking technology, he has spent the past four years driving product strategy and innovation at Volante. Prior to Volante, he spearheaded payment modernization initiatives across APAC, Europe, and North America for Global Banks. Currently, his focus is on integrating Agentic AI & Stablecoins into payment processes to enhance operational efficiency, automate decision-making, and strengthen resilience across payment ecosystems. MS collaborates closely with industry regulators and networks, including the Federal Reserve, The Clearing House, and X9, and contributes to Faster Payments Council working groups. He is passionate about shaping the next generation of AI-driven payment infrastructures and stablecoin-based ecosystems.