• EY-Parthenon's 2026 survey of 521 decision-makers puts corporate production use of stablecoins at 18%, double the 2025 share.
• 69% of respondents offer or plan to offer stablecoin services within two years, up from 30% in 2025.
• Respondents cite slow settlement (56%) and FX costs or spreads (52%) as the main cross-border frictions.
• 63% of corporates say they would likely adopt if their existing bank or payments provider offered it, which favors incumbents over standalone crypto venues.
• Euro stablecoins are a sliver of supply: Bank of Ireland data cited by CoinDesk puts them at 0.2% of circulation in May 2026.

Stablecoins have crossed from experiment to early production in corporate payments, but only a minority of firms are there. A CoinDesk Indices column dated 22 October 2026, written by EY-Parthenon's Prashant Kher, summarizes the firm's 2026 Blockchain Payments Survey of 521 corporate and financial-institution decision-makers. It reports 18% of corporates using stablecoins in production, double the 2025 share. The figures are survey responses, not measured payment volumes.

What the survey actually measures

The survey measures stated adoption and intent, not settled value. EY-Parthenon reports 18% of corporates in production and 15% using tokenized deposits. It also reports that 69% of respondents offer stablecoin services or plan to within two years, up from 30% in 2025. Those are intentions from a self-selected panel, and the column gives no stablecoin volume, transaction count or take-rate, so the money actually clearing remains unquantified.

Settlement speed and FX cost drive the interest

Cross-border friction is the stated reason. Respondents cited slow processing and settlement (56%), FX costs or spreads (52%), regulatory, sanctions and compliance delays (48%) and correspondent banking fees (36%), according to the column. Stablecoins address the first two directly; the compliance delays do not disappear because a payment moves on a blockchain. The pitch is therefore narrower than a replacement of bank rails: it targets the settlement lag and spread.

Buyers want it inside the bank, not beside it

Distribution favors incumbents. The survey reports that 76% rate integration with ERP, treasury and banking platforms as very important or critical, 74% want blockchain payments inside existing interfaces, and 63% of corporates would likely adopt if their current bank or payments provider offered it. Only 14% prefer a separate digital-asset experience. That tilts value toward banks and processors that can embed stablecoin and tokenized-deposit rails in products clients already use.

Euro and bank-issued dollar coins are still early

Issuance is concentrating around bank consortia but is not yet scaled. CoinDesk's expert section says Qivalis has gathered 37 institutions across 15 countries for a regulated euro stablecoin under the EU's MiCA framework, and that 21 institutions, including Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo, announced plans in September 2026 for a dollar stablecoin in the first half of 2027. Bank of Ireland data cited there puts euro coins at 0.2% of circulation in May 2026.

What this means for payments and treasury teams

Treat the survey as a demand signal and test the economics yourself. Treasury teams should price a stablecoin corridor against their current correspondent route on settlement time, FX spread and total fees, and ask existing banks about embedded offerings first. Watch for the first published volumes from the bank consortia and for regulators' final rules, since the column offers no volume data to confirm that stated intent has become cleared payments.