Bank of America disclosed that it has completed its first cross-border pilot transaction using its own stablecoin, USBDC. This real-time test connected its banking entities in North America and Europe, demonstrating the bank’s use of stablecoins for actual fund transfers.
The transaction is completed on Stellar.
This pilot was conducted on the Stellar blockchain. The U.S. bank stated that the test results showed funds could be transferred on-chain while remaining integrated with the bank’s existing financial, risk management, compliance, and operational systems.
This means the relevant processes do not operate independently of the bank’s existing infrastructure but are completed within the current back-end system. For traditional banks, this integration capability is often more critical than simply executing a single on-chain transfer.
The pilot focuses on improving cross-border payment efficiency.
Gunjan Kedia, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America, said that this real-time pilot demonstrated the feasibility of the bank accelerating its global cash management and funds transfer capabilities. According to her, the bank aims to leverage new technologies to enhance customer service and integrate these capabilities into its banking system.
Based on the disclosed information, this transaction remains pilot in nature, focusing on verifying the feasibility of cross-border payments using stablecoins, rather than announcing a full-scale launch for a broad customer base. The article also does not disclose the transaction amount, the number of participating customers, or any subsequent commercialization timeline.
U.S. banks are accelerating their stablecoin initiatives
Over the past year, interest in stablecoins within the U.S. banking sector has continued to rise, with primary applications focused on payments, settlement, and cross-border fund transfers. As traditional financial institutions accelerate testing of on-chain settlement tools, the number of banks developing or jointly launching stablecoin projects is increasing.
The article also mentions that a coalition of multiple state banking associations plans to launch a blockchain platform called BankChain Alliance in the first half of 2027 to support stablecoin-related applications. This demonstrates that the banking industry is moving to advance stablecoins from conceptual testing to more concrete infrastructure development.
Additional information: USBDC is a stablecoin project launched by U.S. Bank; this disclosure emphasizes cross-border pilot initiatives between banking entities, rather than a retail payment product.