US Bank, the fifth-largest banking institution in the US, has completed a live pilot of its proprietary dollar-backed stablecoin, USBDC. The test, conducted on September 9, 2026, involved real-time cross-border payments between the bank's North American and European divisions using the Stellar blockchain.
The pilot tested the complete lifecycle of the stablecoin, including minting, payment execution, redemption, and freezing, as well as clawback functionality. The system was designed to integrate with the bank's existing risk management, compliance, finance, and operations systems.
The project is a continuation of a partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation and PwC, which began in November 2025. Earlier, in October 2025, the bank established a dedicated Digital Assets and Money Movement organization to focus on stablecoin issuance, digital asset custody, and money tokenization.
By late 2025, US Bank was already providing custody services for Anchorage Digital Bank's stablecoin reserves. The bank now plans to expand the use of USBDC for 24/7 payments, liquidity management, cross-border treasury operations, and improved collateral mobility.