Citi plans stablecoin checkout so merchants won’t need to hold digital assets

Citi plans to let institutional merchants accept digital-asset payments without holding stablecoins themselves. Its September 28, 2026 announcement outlined stablecoin checkout for Spring by Citi, with Coinbase handling conversion into fiat and Citi settling the funds.

Key takeaways

• Coinbase Payments will convert customers’ digital currency into fiat.
• Merchants will not need to manage stablecoin holdings.
• The initiatives are planned to launch in the United States first.
• A separate account integration will convert incoming fiat into stablecoins.

According to The Defiant, the arrangement adds digital-asset acceptance to an existing merchant platform rather than creating a separate service. Spring already offers ecommerce-enabled instant payments and electronic direct debits, settling payments directly into clients’ Citi bank accounts.

How Citi’s stablecoin checkout will work

Stablecoin acceptance will be enabled by Coinbase Payments, with Citi handling settlement of proceeds in its role as bank of record. According to Coinbase, its infrastructure handles automatic conversion of the digital currency into fiat currency, eliminating the need for merchants to hold or manage stablecoins themselves.

As a result, institutional merchant clients using Citi’s upcoming stablecoin checkout system will be able to accept digital-asset payments from customers while still receiving funds in conventional currency. The conversion and settlement roles were set out in the companies’ September releases, which identified Spring as the merchant channel.

A partnership that moves money in both directions

The checkout plan builds on Citi and Coinbase’s October 2025 collaboration, which initially focused on fiat funding and withdrawals. That work supported Coinbase’s on- and off-ramps—the services used to convert between traditional currencies and digital assets.

The expanded arrangement also includes a separate integration for Coinbase payments customers. Citi’s Virtual Account Wallet will power Coinbase Virtual Accounts, providing bank-account-like functionality.

Those accounts will automatically convert incoming fiat into stablecoins. That runs in the opposite direction from merchant checkout, where digital currency becomes fiat before merchants receive the proceeds.

United States comes first

According to the companies, these initiatives will initially roll out in the United States. The merchant offering combines digital-asset payments with Spring’s existing fiat services, including direct settlement into Citi accounts.

Citi says its broader payments business handles approximately $6 trillion daily, spanning cross-border transfers, clearing and payment acceptance.

Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.