PNC Launches USDC Payments Pilot With Coinbase

How PNC turns USDC into dollar deposits

The pilot splits a payment into two steps. The payer sends USDC on Ethereum, where the transfer is recorded on the blockchain. The service then converts the token into dollars and credits the proceeds to the recipient’s PNC account, according to Coinbase’s announcement.

A company that invoices in dollars could accept a stablecoin payment from a customer while keeping the proceeds in its regular cash balance. The conversion also removes a separate step for the recipient, who would otherwise have to arrange to exchange the tokens and transfer the dollars to a bank.

Circle says USDC is backed by cash and cash-equivalent assets. The reserve assets support the token while it circulates. For a business receiving money through PNC’s pilot, the balance it can draw on after conversion sits in its designated bank account.

The 1-to-1 figure describes the conversion rate. PNC and Coinbase did not disclose a fee schedule or say how costs would be divided between payer and recipient. They identified Ethereum as the network for the pilot and gave no details on how the service handles transfers sent over other networks.

PNC said the service adds to its existing faster-payment options. Its treasury platform already supports collections through a request for payment that customers can fulfill using the Real-Time Payments network. The stablecoin pilot gives an enrolled business another way to collect money from a customer that already pays in USDC.

Coinbase and PNC move from Bitcoin trading to payments

The companies announced their partnership in July 2025, initially saying they would develop a way for PNC customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies. PNC also agreed to provide some banking services to Coinbase.

In December, PNC opened spot Bitcoin trading to eligible private-bank customers through its online platform. The new service serves a different part of the bank and uses Coinbase’s payments technology. The parent company reported $627.8 billion in assets as of Sept. 30 in its quarterly filing. PNC did not say how many clients would take part in the pilot.

Other banks have tested USDC deeper in the payment chain. Lloyds and Visa’s September pilot used the token to settle $750,000 in obligations between the two institutions over seven days. Lloyds said the funds reached Visa in under an hour, including over the weekend. In PNC’s pilot, USDC is what the customer sends, and the recipient gets dollars.

PNC pilot leaves deposit timing open

The bank did not publish the time it takes for a transfer on Ethereum to become available cash in a PNC account. For a finance team collecting an invoice from abroad, that interval determines when the company can use the money for expenses. The companies also did not specify whether the dollar credit follows the same schedule on weekdays and weekends.

A second question is how the deposit will appear in the recipient’s records. The launch announcement did not explain whether the deposit entry will carry an invoice reference or how clients will trace a bank credit back to the original Ethereum transfer.

Some banks are testing flows in both directions. Cross River’s integration with Ripple connects stablecoin payments and bank payouts. PNC’s announcement describes receipts only. It gives no timetable for adding payouts, other tokens or other chains.

The broader crypto market remained cautious on Monday. Alternative.me’s Fear & Greed Index read 29 out of 100, in the Fear range, up from 28 on Sunday.

PNC has yet to give an enrollment timetable beyond the initial group. The next details for prospective clients are which businesses qualify, how much they can receive per payment and when the bank will make converted dollars available.