By PNC Bank has launched a limited pilot enabling corporate and institutional clients to receive payments in USDC on the Ethereum blockchain, expanding its cryptocurrency infrastructure partnership with Coinbase. The Pittsburgh-based financial institution announced the initiative on November 9, 2026, introducing stablecoin payment acceptance for eligible customers of its Corporate & Institutional Banking division. Under the program, incoming USDC payments are automatically converted into U.S. dollars at a 1:1 ratio and deposited into designated PNC bank accounts. Coinbase provides the underlying payment technology, while PNC handles traditional banking and treasury management services.
The initiative is designed to accelerate fund availability and improve cross-border payment efficiency without requiring participating businesses to hold stablecoins directly. PNC described the rollout as a limited pilot rather than a general commercial launch, with broader availability dependent on customer feedback and further evaluation.
Coinbase Partnership Connects Ethereum Payments With Traditional Banking
The new service uses Coinbase Payment APIs to process USDC transactions on Ethereum, allowing businesses to accept blockchain-based payments while receiving conventional dollar deposits. USDC, issued by Circle, is designed to maintain a value of one U.S. dollar and is backed by reserve assets. Its blockchain infrastructure allows transfers outside conventional banking hours, potentially reducing delays associated with international payment processing. Tom Lang, PNC’s head of Treasury Management Product and Operations, said the pilot would help the bank explore how businesses could use emerging payment technologies within their existing treasury operations.
Coinbase infrastructure executive Alec Lovett described the partnership as an example of traditional financial institutions integrating stablecoin technology into established banking services. The announcement builds on an agreement established in July 2025, when PNC selected Coinbase’s Crypto-as-a-Service platform to develop cryptocurrency services for its customers. That collaboration subsequently led to the introduction of spot Bitcoin trading for eligible PNC Private Bank clients in December 2025. The latest initiative extends the partnership beyond cryptocurrency investment services into commercial payment processing. However, PNC has not disclosed the number of pilot participants, transaction limits, processing fees or expected settlement times. The initial offering covers incoming USDC payments only, with no announcement of a corresponding outbound stablecoin payment service.
Major Banks Expand Stablecoin Infrastructure for Business Payments
PNC’s initiative reflects growing interest among established financial institutions in using blockchain technology to modernize corporate payment systems. Citigroup expanded its Coinbase partnership in September 2026, introducing stablecoin acceptance capabilities for institutional customers through its Spring by Citi platform. Coinbase has also partnered with payments technology provider Moov to develop stablecoin services for community banks and credit unions. The broader stablecoin market reached approximately $290.8 billion in capitalization on November 9, according to DefiLlama figures reported by Cointelegraph.
USDC accounted for approximately $70.5 billion, making it the second-largest dollar-pegged stablecoin behind Tether’s USDT. For banks, stablecoin infrastructure offers potential improvements in cross-border settlement, payment availability and transaction processing. Nevertheless, implementation requires compliance controls, reliable conversion mechanisms and integration with existing financial systems. PNC’s pilot will help assess whether these benefits translate into practical improvements for corporate customers. The announcement represents another step toward integrating blockchain-based payment rails with conventional banking, although the program’s commercial scale and long-term expansion plans remain undisclosed.