European banks explore stablecoins for payments and treasury

By Aarav Garg

European banks are moving from observation to participation in stablecoins, as the sector looks for faster settlement, more flexible payment rails and a larger role in digital money infrastructure.

The clearest sign came this week when Banco Sabadell said it intends to join Qivalis, a European banking consortium developing a euro-pegged stablecoin for launch in the second half of 2026. Reuters reported that the group already includes major lenders such as ING, UniCredit, BNP Paribas, Caixabank and BBVA, with Bankinter also in talks to join.

The move matters because it shows incumbent banks are no longer treating stablecoins as a niche crypto experiment. Instead, they are starting to see them as part of the broader payments stack, particularly for cross-border settlement and treasury use cases. In Sabadell’s case, the stablecoin project is being framed as a way to make transactions more efficient and secure, while strengthening Europe’s position in digital payments. That shift is notable for fintech as well, because it suggests that regulated token-based money may increasingly sit alongside cards, instant payments and bank deposits rather than outside the mainstream system.

The regulatory conversation is moving in parallel. A senior Bank of Italy official recently argued that the European Union should consider a tokenised version of SEPA, while the European Central Bank’s president has expressed scepticism about euro stablecoins, warning that they could create financial stability risks. Together, those positions capture the direction of travel: policymakers are not dismissing digital money, but they are still debating which forms should be encouraged, constrained or replaced.

For fintech in Europe, the implications are practical. Stablecoins could become a new settlement layer for cross-border payments, B2B transfers and treasury operations, especially if banks, payment firms and regulators converge on common standards. The Sabadell move suggests the market is beginning to shift from pilots and policy papers to real infrastructure decisions. If more banks follow, stablecoins may become less of a crypto-market story and more of a payments-industry one.