U.S. Bank has completed a live cross-border payment test using its dollar-backed stablecoin USBDC, settling a transaction between bank entities in North America and Europe over the Stellar blockchain.
The pilot, announced on September 9, 2026, validated minting, redemption, freezing and fund recovery functions for USBDC. It also tested the bank’s internally developed Digital Asset Platform, which connects blockchain networks to its finance, regulatory compliance, risk management and operations systems.
The fifth-largest U.S. commercial bank said it is exploring use cases for USBDC in cross-border treasury operations, liquidity management and collateral movement. No commercial launch date or customer availability timeline was provided.
The test comes amid accelerating institutional entry into stablecoins. Last week, 21 financial institutions, including Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs and UBS, formed a joint venture to issue dollar-backed stablecoins, with a planned launch in the first half of 2027. In May, a European banking consortium launched Qivalis to issue a euro-backed stablecoin.
U.S. Bank CEO Gunjan Kedia said the pilot demonstrates the bank’s ability to accelerate cash management and connect traditional finance with blockchain-based settlement.
