Coinbase and payments infrastructure provider Moov announced a partnership on September 10 that will connect stablecoin capabilities to more than 1,000 community banks and credit unions. The integration allows financial institutions to offer stablecoin payments, settlement, custody, and real-time funding through existing payment systems.
How the Partnership Works
Moov will embed Coinbase's digital asset infrastructure into its platform, using Coinbase Developer Platform's Custodial Wallet accounts to hold funds and its Payments API to manage stablecoin transactions. The integration supports consumer payments, merchant acceptance, merchant settlement, payouts, and real-time funding.
Financial institutions using Moov already have access to infrastructure for accepting payments, issuing cards, and moving money. The partnership allows them to add stablecoin capabilities without requiring each bank or credit union to develop separate wallets, custody arrangements, and stablecoin transaction systems.
According to Moov co-founder and CEO Wade Arnold, the partnership addresses immediate merchant demand. "Business customers of community institutions are already being asked to accept stablecoins, and today they go outside their institution to do it. We built this so the answer comes from their primary FI instead," Arnold said.
Regulatory Environment Shifts
The partnership comes as regulatory clarity around bank involvement in digital assets has expanded. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency confirmed in March 2025 that national banks and federal savings associations may conduct crypto custody, stablecoin reserve, and payment activities while meeting applicable legal, supervisory, and risk management requirements.
Coinbase received preliminary conditional approval from the OCC on April 2 for its national trust charter application, filed in October 2025, which seeks a federal structure to support custody, payments, and related services under OCC oversight.
What Are Stablecoins
Stablecoins are crypto assets designed to track an external reference, usually the U.S. dollar, rather than fluctuate like bitcoin and many other digital assets. Fiat-backed tokens seek to maintain their peg through reserves, redemption rights, and market activity. They can transfer dollar-like value on-chain around the clock, supporting merchant payments, remittances, settlement, and treasury operations outside conventional banking hours.
However, price stability is a design objective rather than a guarantee. Banks must assess reserve quality, issuer reliability, redemption access, custody controls, blockchain security, regulatory compliance, and the possibility that a token could lose its intended peg.
Community Banking Concerns Persist
Despite the partnership's expansion, community banks remain divided over stablecoins' potential effects on deposits and lending. The Independent Community Bankers of America has demanded a prohibition on stablecoin rewards, warning that deposit migration could reduce deposits by an estimated $1.3 trillion and local lending by an estimated $850 billion.
Coinbase's Broader Strategy
The Moov agreement extends Coinbase's effort to connect digital assets with regulated financial services. In June, Coinbase partnered with Masspay to integrate USDC settlement across a 180-country network, allowing eligible businesses to fund payments in dollars, convert funds into USDC, and deliver digital assets or local currency through established workflows.
