“Stablecoins aren’t a speculative play. They’re the next evolution of payments — and a chance for credit unions to lead, not lag. It starts with connecting members to DLT rails - the digital wallet. Without that, nothing else can happen. It’s just a new payment rail - embrace it or lose the relationship. It’s that simple.”
While ‘stablecoins’ were the prevailing buzzword across Money20/20 this year, the credit union industry had a significant presence. Small financial institutions have staked a place in the future of payments.
Credit unions received a significant boost this summer with the enactment of the stablecoin bill into law. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act authorizes subsidiaries of federally insured credit unions, such as credit union service organizations, to become issuers.
Not Your Mother’s Credit Union
A Money20/20 fireside chat with the regulator for credit unions that I moderated focused on the rulemaking task ahead and how this subset of the financial system will benefit from the impending wealth transfer. Kyle S. Hauptman, Chair of the National Credit Union Administration, pointed out that credit unions have been innovating for a long time. He also reminisced about his experience sorting through his mother’s credit union account after she passed away years ago. He predicts many millennials and members of Gen Z may be similarly introduced to credit unions in the near future.
The industry conveyed that they are ready during a session with top credit union CEOs moderated by Susan Mitchell, who was inducted into America’s Credit Union Museum HERstory. As she probed the executives on their use of emerging technologies, she summarized that “we have been seeing the transformation but are also keeping the focus on our core purpose.”
Into The Age Of Digital Assets
Among the many other speakers on the various Money20/20 stages during the conference was Becky Reed, a former Credit Union CEO who now works in the blockchain space. She serves as Chief Operating Officer of BankSocial, a core provider built on Hedera that deploys plug-and-play infrastructure, enabling financial institutions to access digital asset capabilities.
Reed told me, “Stablecoins aren’t a speculative play. They’re the next evolution of payments — and a chance for credit unions to lead, not lag. It starts with connecting members to DLT rails - the digital wallet. Without that, nothing else can happen. It’s just a new payment rail - embrace it or lose the relationship. It’s that simple.”
Regulatory Clarity Still Needed
While these institutions will have a role in the age of digital finance, the rulemaking process, however, is not simple.
America’s Credit Union, a trade group, last month sent a letter to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to advocate for “a regulatory framework that encourages broad participation in the digital assets and stablecoin markets and does not unduly burden smaller financial institutions, so that the benefits of responsible innovation in stablecoins are accessible throughout the financial system.”
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