Stablecoin for treasurers: PwC

Summary

Stablecoins are gaining traction for faster cross-border payments.
Treasurers are piloting USD payouts and liquidity use cases.
Regulation is advancing, but operational risks still require caution.
Integration gaps across ERP, treasury management systems, and banks can limit scalability.

Stablecoin adoption has entered a new phase. For years, many corporate treasurers have observed the evolution of this alternative payment mechanism from a distance, balancing curiosity with caution. But with recent progress in regulation, enhancements to infrastructure, and increased enterprise interest, the landscape continues to quickly shift.

No longer a fringe concept or used only by crypto natives, stablecoins now represent a functional, increasingly compliant, and institutionally supported payment option that can reduce real operational friction. But don’t think of stablecoins as a magic bullet to solve every problem. While many institutions should be thinking about stablecoins strategically, not everyone can or should begin with issuance in mind. Let’s take a look at use cases treasurers can explore today, what still needs time to mature, and how you can safely engage with this emerging technology. And while we’re at it, remember that alternatives such as deposit tokens will undoubtedly play a role in the future of payments and that any new tech comes with its own unique risks.

Use cases at work now

While exploratory proof of concepts and pilots seem to be announced almost daily, only a select few stablecoin use cases are genuinely live, scalable, and relevant for today’s treasurers and finance practitioners.

Cross-border payments and acceptance

If any part of your business is international in scope, you know all too well how cross-border payments can be slow, expensive, and difficult to manage—particularly in emerging markets. Sending USD abroad often involves multiple intermediaries, wide FX spreads, and lengthy settlement times. These issues are magnified in high-volume B2B transactions and volatile currency corridors, where timing and cost can have a significant impact on working capital. In markets with limited banking infrastructure or strict capital controls, you probably face additional hurdles in moving funds effectively or maintaining access to hard currency. Reconciliation adds further strain, with your finance team relying on manual processes to track payments and resolve mismatches across entities. In many cases, companies leave idle cash buffers trapped in local accounts to prevent liquidity shortages caused by regulatory delays, cut-off times, or inefficient banking infrastructure.

Through stablecoins and the underlying distributed ledger technology, organizations are beginning to bypass costly, slow settlement networks and even local banking rails, unlocking real-time visibility and improved effectiveness. For global finance teams, this enables faster, cheaper, and more transparent management of cross-border liquidity. With 24/7 liquidity access, corporates can centralize cash more frequently, which can free up working capital and enhance yield opportunities by putting excess balances to work. Stablecoins can be especially valuable for organizations that lack strong FX capabilities, deep banking relationships, or access to preferred pricing due to the access to money that they can provide.

Where we’re seeing traction today

High-volume B2B transactions where FX risk and timing matter
High-volume corridors with volatile currencies
Underbanked or capital-controlled jurisdictions
Payout models where USD is preferred or expected by recipients
Treasury functions looking to gain 24/7 mobility and speed

Consider multinationals delivering services in markets with limited financial infrastructure, such as regions with capital controls, high inflation, or limited access to USD. Traditionally, these companies relied on complex FX processes, high-fee intermediaries, and delayed settlement cycles to collect payments and repatriate funds. But by accepting local currency payments, converting them to stablecoins, and then converting stablecoins to dollars, transactions can settle in under an hour rather than days. This model helps improve liquidity access, simplifies currency risk management, and increases operational control—without needing a local banking footprint.

Contractor and payroll disbursements

As the workforce becomes more global, flexible, and on-demand, traditional payroll systems are struggling to keep pace. Businesses hiring freelancers, contractors, or creators across borders often face delays, high transaction fees, and limited visibility when disbursing payments through conventional banking rails. Workers, in turn, may wait days for funds to settle, only to lose value through poor FX rates and local banking limitations.

In practice, freelancers and contract workers in tech and creative fields already receive stablecoin payouts, particularly in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and South and Southeast Asia. Demand is also expanding beyond contractors into full-time employees and digital creators as new payroll tools and platforms begin supporting stablecoin-based salary disbursement and earned wage access, particularly among Gen Z and future generation workers.

Where we’re seeing traction today

Remote-first companies that hire global contractors
Gig platforms or creator marketplaces with high payout frequency
Regions with high digital wallet adoption and crypto literacy

What should change for stablecoins to deliver at scale

Traditional treasury operations often struggle with limitations around liquidity access, speed, and flexibility. Global enterprises should frequently move funds across entities, time zones, and banking systems, all of which are constrained by operating hours, batch settlement processes, and cut-off times. Even routine cash movements between subsidiaries can involve manual coordination, multiple banking partners, and delays in reconciliation.

These challenges are compounded by:

Idle capital tied up in nonproductive accounts
Limited visibility into real-time balances across geographies
Dependence on intermediary banks and legacy rails
Difficulty coordinating working capital across business units in different jurisdictions

Enabling stablecoin use cases in a meaningful way may ultimately require more than just integrations with third parties and/or building digital asset infrastructure such as wallet and custody capabilities. It will likely require rethinking how treasury systems handle real-time settlement, automate reconciliation, and interact with blockchain networks. While digital-native firms are leading this shift, broader enterprise adoption depends on solving existing barriers.

Legacy system compatibility: ERP, TMS, and bank connectivity systems are not designed to interact with blockchain networks, wallets, or smart contracts today.
Reconciliation complexity: On-chain/off-chain flows introduce new reconciliation challenges, particularly when stablecoin transactions bypass traditional bank statements and clearinghouses.
Operational risk and controls: Internal finance, audit, and IT teams may be unfamiliar with private/public key management, transaction signing policies, or the risks of interacting with smart contracts.
Cross-jurisdiction compliance: Differences in how digital assets are regulated across countries complicate global treasury strategy, especially around movement of funds and KYC obligations.
Limited integration from traditional banks: Few banking partners today support direct interaction with stablecoin or tokenized assets, limiting enterprise adoption pathways (but this is quickly changing).

Where to get started: Evaluation and strategy development

Evaluating and prioritizing stablecoin use cases requires a clear understanding of internal readiness and the compliance responsibilities associated with third-party partners in addition to identifying operational friction. A foundational question many treasurers face is whether stablecoin use will trigger new licensing or regulatory exposure. Encouragingly, the answer in the more operational contexts is no. Many companies exploring stablecoins are doing so as users, not as issuers or exchanges. However, oversight remains essential. Here are some key considerations as you move from exploration to execution.

Identify high-friction payment flows: Focus on areas where stablecoin can deliver measurable impact to your enterprise, such as supplier payments, cross-border transactions, contractor disbursements, or liquidity transfers across entities.
Assess internal readiness and existing capabilities: Evaluate whether your technical infrastructure, accounting, tax, and compliance frameworks can support digital asset activity. Engage control functions early to help identify any blockers or reporting considerations.
Inventory and prioritize pilot use cases: Choose discrete, low-risk pilots with clear success criteria, ideally where volume is low but friction is high, before considering broader rollout.
Select enterprise-grade partners and vendors: Prioritize wallet providers, custodians, and infrastructure vendors that are licensed, regulated, and experienced in supporting institutional use cases.
Understand where regulatory responsibility lies: While using stablecoin does not typically require new licensing, your vendors should be able to handle BSA/AML compliance, transaction monitoring, and token custody on your behalf. Conduct vendor diligence accordingly.
Assess onboarding, audit, and reconciliation processes: Confirm that your stablecoin activity can be properly booked, reconciled, and reviewed in alignment with internal controls and external audit requirements.
Monitor evolving regulatory frameworks: Stay informed on emerging laws and guidance—including the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts in the US and MiCA in the EU—as these may influence vendor selection, reporting requirements, or long-term strategy.

A measured path forward

Stablecoins are no longer speculative tools. They’re programmable payment assets, and they’re emerging as a global payment rail with real treasury utility. For corporate finance teams, the goal is not wholesale replacement but targeted adoption. Whether for cross-border payouts, contractor/employee disbursements/payments, or liquidity enhancements, stablecoins offer the potential to reduce working capital needs and improve the effectiveness of how cash is deployed.

We believe the time to engage is now, not because stablecoins are trendy but because they offer a path to solve long-standing operational pain points with speed, transparency, and control. At this point, the cost of inaction may outweigh the risks of engagement.