Global Banks Face $230 Billion Threat from Stablecoins and Tokenized Deposits

Capgemini, a global business transformation partner, has released the findings of its World Payments Report 2027, which highlights the growing threat to traditional banking revenue from stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). These new financial instruments are expected to account for approximately 4% of global payments volume by 2030, impacting high-margin revenue streams such as foreign exchange spreads, correspondent banking, float income, and transaction processing fees.

The report, now in its 22nd edition, surveyed over 1,100 large corporates with revenues greater than $1 billion. These companies operate in 14 markets, maintain 11 banking relationships, and conduct 34% of their business-to-business (B2B) payment volume through cross-border transactions. Despite improvements in payment infrastructure, corporates still face significant challenges. Three-quarters (74%) of corporates describe cross-border payments as slow, costly, and unpredictable. The end-to-end journey for corporate payments, from origination and transfer to confirmation and reconciliation, takes roughly 3.5 days. During this process, more than half (57%) report lacking access to live payment status, cash positions, or transparent pricing.

Corporate clients are increasingly dissatisfied with their banking partners. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of corporates are open to sourcing stablecoin services from non-bank providers if their primary banking partners fail to keep pace. Corporates incur total costs equivalent to 2% of transaction value for a typical cross-border B2B payment. This includes delays, hidden fees, and the unpredictability of settlement outcomes.

Banks have prioritized payment innovation for corporate clients over the last three years, with 60% identifying it as a strategic area of investment. However, only one in three corporate clients are satisfied with their primary banking partner, revealing a widening gap between what banks are delivering and what businesses increasingly expect. Banks must address these unmet needs, such as predictability of settlement outcomes, real-time visibility into payment execution, and stronger protection against fraud.

Accelerated intelligent money instruments, including stablecoins and tokenized deposits, are emerging as a catalyst for transformation. These instruments can reduce friction during cross-border payment flows by supporting 24/7 execution, built-in rules, and real-time settlement. The report estimates that widespread adoption could unlock as much as $4 trillion currently trapped in settlement and liquidity accounts, capital that generates little return and cannot be deployed for lending, investment, or other productive uses.

Corporate demand is building for this new generation of payment instruments, and banks remain the preferred provider. However, nearly 60% of corporate clients are willing to source stablecoin services from non-bank providers if their banking partners fail to keep pace. This competitive erosion arrives as corporate clients report 36% of their B2B payment volume already flows through non-banks.

The report identifies tokenized deposits as the top near-term priority for banks. Bank executives recognize the importance of these instruments for remaining on balance sheets and fitting within existing regulations. However, only 21% of banks, classified as leaders, are actively scaling at least one accelerated intelligent money instrument, while the remaining 79% of banks are still evaluating their position.

These high-achieving banks are focused on specific corporate use cases that address operational friction and monetize their value beyond transaction fees. Leaders are three times more likely than mainstream banks to identify new revenue streams and expect to offset declining transaction revenue within 15 months, versus 25 months for the rest of the industry. Leaders are also more decisive: 33% aim to pursue a transformative market posture by shaping how the ecosystem operates, compared with 40% of mainstream banks that intend to take a reactive approach.

Leaders place a premium on compliance by embedding it directly into execution before money moves. They outpace mainstream banks by 1.5 times on cross-network transaction monitoring and are 1.2 times more likely to invest in AI-driven surveillance to flag unusual wallet behavior and implement real-time Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) checks into transaction flows.

Despite these advantages, foundational gaps remain. Just over half (56%) of banks report having the talent and skills to build and maintain digital assets, technical readiness, and capabilities required to support tokenization, smart contracts, and interoperability across financial networks. Closing this gap will determine which banks are best positioned to move from experimentation to scale.

Banks face a critical decision: act now to build lasting trust, capture new payment flows, and retain the corporate deposits that underpin their wider banking relationships, or risk losing $230 billion in payments revenue.