Wells Fargo readies for bank stablecoin

Wells Fargo has told investors it is getting ready for stablecoins, even though it is not yet sure how Americans will use them. Speaking on the bank's third-quarter earnings call on 13 October 2026, chief executive Charlie Scharf said the US use cases for stablecoins remain unclear, but that the bank is building solutions so it is prepared if the opportunities develop.

The comment was brief, but it matters because of what sits behind it: Wells Fargo is one of 21 large financial institutions that have committed to launch a jointly owned stablecoin company.

What the bank said

Scharf's message was one of caution paired with preparation. Rather than predicting a quick shift in how people pay, he described stablecoins as an area where the bank wants to have working products in place before demand is proven. Wells Fargo has already introduced tokenized deposit services for corporate and commercial clients, a related technology in which a bank deposit is represented on a digital ledger while remaining a regular bank liability.

The 21-institution plan

In early September 2026, a group of 21 banks and asset managers announced that they would set up a new company in the second half of 2026 to issue stablecoins. The members include Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Capital One, PNC, TD Bank Group, Scotiabank, Fidelity Investments and WisdomTree in North America; Santander, BBVA, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, Lloyds, Rabobank and UBS in Europe; MUFG in Japan; Sirius International Holding in the Middle East; and Standard Bank in Africa.

The group plans to start with a US dollar stablecoin in the first half of 2027, aimed at wholesale, institutional and retail use, including cross-border payments and digital asset settlement. It has said it may later add tokens in other major currencies, starting with the euro. The company's name has not been announced.

Why regulation shapes the timing

The consortium has said its token is designed to comply with the US GENIUS Act and, where relevant, the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) rules. Both frameworks set requirements for reserves, redemption and disclosure, and both are still being put into practice through detailed rules from supervisors. Banks tend to move only once those details are settled, which helps explain why a bank-backed token is planned for 2027 rather than sooner.

Why it matters for payments

Today most stablecoin activity runs through specialised issuers. A token backed by a group of household-name banks would give businesses and consumers another option, with familiar names behind the reserves and existing compliance teams behind the onboarding. For cross-border payments in particular, a widely accepted bank-issued dollar token could reduce the number of intermediaries between sender and receiver.

It also shows that large banks increasingly see stablecoins as part of the payments landscape they need to serve, not only as a competitor to it.

What to watch next

The next milestones are the formal creation of the consortium company, its name and leadership, and details on which blockchains the token will use and how customers will access it. Further comments from other member banks during the current earnings season may also show how far their own preparations have gone.

What it means for ODIX Pay users

Bank-issued stablecoins are still some way off, but dollar stablecoins are already part of everyday payments. If you are asking what is a stablecoin, it is a digital token built to keep a steady value, usually one US dollar. In the ODIX Pay app you can buy crypto with a credit card or debit card, choosing the dollar stablecoins USDT or USDC. Availability depends on your country, and every fee is shown before you confirm. See how to buy USDT and USDC with your card.