Traditional banking meets digital payments as Citi and Coinbase expand their partnership; another step toward connecting traditional finance with the growing stablecoin economy.
Coinbase, as announced on September 28, 2026, is expanding their partnership to help businesses accept, manage and use stablecoins without having to build separate banking and digital-asset systems.
The expanded collaboration builds on an agreement announced in October 2025, when the two companies began exploring digital payment solutions for Citi’s institutional clients. The latest initiatives will launch first in the United States, combining Citi’s regulated banking infrastructure with Coinbase’s digital-asset payment technology.
The companies say the goal is to make payments simpler for businesses while allowing them to move more easily between traditional currencies and stablecoins.
“Our clients operate in an increasingly fast-paced and complex global economy, and we’re focused on delivering the solutions they need,” said Debopama Sen, Citi’s head of payments.
Sen added, “Our goal is to build the next generation of payments infrastructure – one that is seamless, interoperable, and operates across both traditional and digital payments instruments and networks. This is about enabling the future of commerce, today.”
Citi Infrastructure Powers Coinbase Virtual Accounts
One major part of the expanded partnership involves Coinbase Virtual Accounts, which will be powered by Citi’s Virtual Account Wallet.
The service is designed to provide businesses with bank account-like functionality while connecting those accounts to stablecoin infrastructure. Through the system, businesses can accept, hold and send funds, while incoming fiat currency can automatically be converted into stablecoins.
Coinbase’s developer documentation currently describes the underlying accounts as being in private beta and requiring activation through a Coinbase representative.
The accounts use Citi’s banking infrastructure and currently support U.S. payment rails including ACH and Fedwire. Customers must complete know-your-customer (KYC) verification, while deposits are converted into USDC at a 1:1 rate from U.S. dollars as part of the settlement process.
This setup could reduce the need for businesses to manually move funds between traditional bank accounts and digital-asset platforms.
Stablecoin Payments Without Direct Crypto Management
The second part of the partnership brings Coinbase’s payment infrastructure to Spring by Citi, Citi’s platform for payment acceptance, gateway services and settlement.
Under the arrangement, Citi’s institutional clients can accept stablecoin payments while receiving settlement in fiat currency. Coinbase manages the stablecoin payment rails and automatically converts the digital assets into fiat before Citi completes the settlement.
This means merchants can offer customers the option to pay with stablecoins without directly holding or managing those digital assets.
Coinbase sees the partnership to provide businesses with a direct connection between traditional banking and digital assets. Citi, meanwhile, brings its regulated banking infrastructure and international payments network to the arrangement.
The companies said additional capabilities are expected to follow in the coming months, extending their efforts to make stablecoins more practical for everyday business payments and global commerce.
