Plasma Executive Says Stablecoins’ Biggest Opportunity Is Replacing Banks, Not Cards / Fresh Today / CUToday.info

NEW YORK–Stablecoins are unlikely to gain widespread adoption at retail checkouts in developed markets, but they could become the primary banking relationship for consumers in underserved regions around the world, according to a Plasma executive interviewed by PYMNTS.

Speaking with PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster, Plasma Chief Strategy Officer Zaheer Ebtikar said the company’s strategy is centered on providing access to trusted digital dollars rather than competing directly with traditional payment cards, PYMNTS reported.

Ebtikar told PYMNTS that Plasma’s consumer platform, Plasma One, is seeing users increasingly treat the service like a bank account, citing more frequent account top-ups and higher card spending. Rather than viewing stablecoins as simply a faster payment method, he said the company sees them as a way for consumers in countries with unstable currencies or fragile banking systems to securely hold U.S. dollar-denominated assets under their own control, according to PYMNTS.

While major banks are exploring tokenized deposits and blockchain-based payment rails, Ebtikar argued in the PYMNTS interview that many incumbent financial institutions remain focused on digitizing existing products instead of reimagining banking around blockchain technology. He said the industry’s long-term opportunity lies in creating entirely new financial experiences rather than simply improving back-end payment efficiency.

Looking ahead, Plasma plans to expand stablecoin use beyond digital wallets by integrating them into cards, payroll, business banking, remittances and local payment networks, PYMNTS reported. Ebtikar said the company’s goal is to make stablecoin transactions available around the clock across borders, arguing that underserved markets could bypass traditional banking infrastructure much as many countries skipped landline telephones in favor of mobile networks.