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Citi partners with Coinbase to enable stablecoin payments for corporate clients

Citigroup has expanded its collaboration with Coinbase to let institutional clients accept stablecoin payments through its merchant-processing platform, settling funds directly in fiat.

An illuminated Citibank logo and sign mounted on a glass facade.
Image: @BullTheoryio

Citigroup has expanded its partnership with Coinbase Global to allow corporate and institutional clients to accept stablecoin payments from customers, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal and an announcement from the companies. Under the integration within the Spring by Citi platform, Coinbase provides the blockchain infrastructure to automatically convert incoming stablecoins into fiat currency, enabling Citi to settle the funds as bank of record without requiring merchants to touch or hold cryptocurrencies directly.[4][3][2][7]

In a reciprocal arrangement, Coinbase selected Citi's Virtual Account Wallet to power Coinbase Virtual Accounts, creating an automated setup where incoming fiat deposits are converted directly into stablecoins. Shahmir Khaliq, Citi's head of services, described the expanded partnership as a pivotal step in the bank's strategy to provide optionality for clients, while Coinbase head of infrastructure product Alec Lovett stated that Citi provides a fast, compliant bridge between fiat and stablecoins at scale.[3][2][5]

The products are scheduled to roll out in the United States first, building on an initial collaboration first established between the two firms in October 2025. Although the companies highlighted access to more than 150 million stablecoin holders worldwide, the announcements did not disclose specific launch dates, pricing details, transaction volumes, or which specific blockchains and stablecoins will be supported.[3][2][1]

Key facts

  • Citigroup expanded its partnership with Coinbase to allow large corporate and institutional clients to accept stablecoin payments from customers.
  • The stablecoin acceptance feature operates within Spring by Citi, with Coinbase handling automatic conversion to fiat and Citi serving as the bank of record for settlement.
  • Coinbase selected Citi's Virtual Account Wallet to power Coinbase Virtual Accounts, which automatically switch incoming fiat deposits into stablecoins.
  • The offerings are set to launch in the United States first, with no launch date, pricing terms, or specific supported tokens and blockchains disclosed.
  • Citi and Coinbase originally announced their collaboration on fiat-to-crypto payment infrastructure in October 2025.
  • Neither company disclosed payment processing volumes or specific live corporate clients for the integrated services.

Sources · 8 sources

  1. TB

    The Block@TheBlockCoPost on X ·

    NEW: Citi is expanding its Coinbase partnership to support stablecoin payments for corporate clients, the WSJ reported. The firms first announced a collaboration in October 2025 focused on fiat-to-crypto payment infrastructure. https://t.co/lakruWghju

    Open source
  2. CR

    CryptoSlateArticle ·

    Coinbase powers Citi’s new stablecoin rails, and corporate banking faces a major shift Citi institutional clients can now accept stablecoin payments through Spring by Citi using Coinbase's payments infrastructure, Coinbase said on Sept. 28. The exchange also said its Virtual Accounts can automatically convert incoming fiat into stablecoins using Citi's Virtual Account Wallet. The announcement gives the companies' earlier digital asset payments partnership two defined uses, one for receiving stablecoins and the other for moving money received in a conventional currency into them. For Citi's institutional clients, the relevant service is Spring by Citi, as Coinbase supplies the infrastructure that enables stablecoin acceptance through it. A business using that route would begin with a stablecoin payment. Coinbase describes the capability as available now, but its announcement does not identify a client that has processed a payment through Spring or disclose how much has been transacted. Coinbase Virtual Accounts address the other side of the exchange between traditional money and stablecoins. Citi's Virtual Account Wallet powers the accounts, which Coinbase says give customers fiat wallets that automatically convert incoming fiat. The described flow starts with a traditional currency payment and ends with stablecoins in the customer's account. The company has not specified the eligible currencies or stablecoins in the public summary, so the precise conversion choices remain unclear. Related Reading Coinbase launches stablecoin payment stack with USDC checkout targeting commerce giants The two routes serve different customers and begin with different forms of money. Citi's institutional payment clients gain a stablecoin acceptance option, while Coinbase Virtual Account customers gain an automated route from fiat receipts into stablecoins. Coinbase has not outlined market-specific eligibility or prices for either Citi-linked path in its blog summary. The functions may be complementary, but the announcement does not establish that a single customer can use both. Citi and Coinbase outlined separate routes for institutional stablecoin acceptance and automatic conversion of incoming fiat. The partnership predates these named services. In October 2025, Citi said it and Coinbase intended to develop institutional digital asset payment capabilities, initially focused on fiat pay-ins and pay-outs for Coinbase's on- and off-ramps and payment orchestration. Citi said specific initiatives would follow, and the Sept. 28 description sets out two of those initiatives as customer-facing payment paths. The stated availability leaves open whether institutions are using either path and at what scale. Coinbase's summary gives no customer count, payment volume, or named live merchant for the Citi integration. Those missing operating details limit any assessment of the partnership's reach, even as the companies have moved from an exploratory plan to specified payment capabilities. The post Coinbase powers Citi’s new stablecoin rails, and corporate banking faces a major shift appeared first on CryptoSlate .

    Open source
  3. UN

    UnchainedArticle ·

    Citi to Offer Stablecoin Checkout for Corporate Clients, With Coinbase Handling the Conversion Businesses that use Citigroup to process their payments will be able to accept stablecoins from customers and receive fiat in return, under an expanded partnership with Coinbase that the two companies announced Monday. The feature sits inside Spring by Citi , the bank’s platform for merchant acquiring, gateway services and settlement. When a buyer pays in stablecoins, Coinbase’s payments infrastructure swaps the tokens for fiat, and Citi, as the bank of record, credits the merchant, Coinbase said . Merchants don’t have to hold the stablecoins directly. The companies said the setup opens merchants up to more than 150 million people worldwide who hold stablecoins . Citi says it moves about $6 trillion a day . “This partnership with Coinbase is a pivotal step in our ongoing Services strategy to provide optionality for our clients,” Shahmir Khaliq , Citi’s head of services, said in the release . Get Unchained’s crypto news in your inbox with the free Unchained Daily newsletter . Citi Infrastructure Behind Coinbase Accounts Coinbase, for its part, selected Citi’s Virtual Account Wallet , which Citi sells to other companies through its banking-as-a-service business, as the banking layer for Coinbase Virtual Accounts . Coinbase payments customers can use the accounts much as they would a bank account, taking in, keeping and paying out funds, and fiat that lands in them is switched into stablecoins automatically. The companies described that automatic conversion as “an industry-first.” “Clients building on Coinbase have always needed a fast, compliant bridge between fiat and stablecoins, and Citi gives us that at scale,” Alec Lovett , head of infrastructure product at Coinbase, said in the release . The products will roll out in the U.S. first. Neither company’s announcement gave a launch date or pricing, or named the stablecoins and blockchains involved. Building on an October 2025 Deal Citi and Coinbase’s partnership dates to October 2025, when it centered on moving client money between fiat and crypto. The companies said Monday they will add more features in the coming months. Citi is also one of 21 banks and asset managers that said on Sept. 1 they would form a company to issue a dollar stablecoin, targeting the first half of 2027. Related Listen: Stripe Bid $53B for PayPal: Who Actually Wins Stablecoin Payments? The post Citi to Offer Stablecoin Checkout for Corporate Clients, With Coinbase Handling the Conversion appeared first on Unchained .

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  4. TW

    The Wall Street Journal@WSJPost on X ·

    Exclusive: Citigroup has tapped crypto company Coinbase Global to help the bank’s big clients take stablecoin payments from customers https://t.co/X0qNG17I92

    Open source
  5. LS

    Laura Shin@laurashinPost on X ·

    Coinbase picked Citi's Virtual Account Wallet as the bank layer for Coinbase Virtual Accounts, where fiat deposits are switched into stablecoins automatically. Both firms say the U.S. comes first; neither gave a launch date. https://t.co/6hKLUErebK

    Open source
  6. CR

    CryptoSlate@CryptoSlatePost on X ·

    Citi clients can now accept stablecoins through Spring by Citi using Coinbase infrastructure. Coinbase Virtual Accounts can separately convert incoming fiat using Citi’s wallet. Neither path has disclosed customer counts or payment volume. https://t.co/YYhd5UvOBy

    Open source
  7. DE

    DecryptArticle ·

    Citi Clients Can Now Take Stablecoin Payments Through Coinbase—Without Touching Crypto Coinbase and Citi expanded an existing deal so Citi's institutional clients can accept stablecoin payments, while Coinbase business accounts run on Citi's banking rails.

    Open source
  8. TB

    The BlockArticle ·

    Citi expands Coinbase partnership to power stablecoin payments for businesses Coinbase is expanding partnership with Citi to provide businesses with infrastructure connecting traditional fiat payments and stablecoins.

    Open source