Bastion, the regulated stablecoin infrastructure provider, believes the narrative around digital assets is shifting. No longer viewed solely as speculative instruments, stablecoins are being positioned as a fundamental upgrade to financial plumbing, offering enterprises a way to bypass the delays and costs associated with traditional banking rails.
Speaking to The Fintech Times, Jared Klee, head of revenue at Bastion, explained that current money movement remains inefficient. Businesses relying on standard ACH or wire transfers face variable fees and settlement times that can stretch to five days depending on the destination. Card payments present an even heavier burden, with interchange, processor, and network fees often amounting to a blended cost of two to three per cent plus a fixed fee per transaction.
Reimagining the cost base
Klee argues that stablecoins “completely dismantle both of these business models.” By operating as digital tokens backed one-to-one by fiat currency, they offer an “always-on” rail that functions 24/7, independent of banking hours or holidays.
“Businesses can expect to spend a fraction of a penny to send money that settles in a fraction of a second,” said Klee. “For enterprises moving large sums of money or managing large treasuries, stablecoins can represent millions in annual savings just on money movement costs alone.”
Beyond direct fee reduction, the speed of settlement addresses a significant opportunity cost for merchants: trapped capital. Traditional batch processing often locks funds in pending settlements, whereas stablecoin processing allows that capital to be immediately redeployed for payroll, inventory, or global operations. Klee describes this shift in working capital efficiency as “every bit as transformational as going from horse-and-buggy money movement to wires and ACH.”
Abstracting the complexity
For widespread adoption, however, the user interface must remain familiar. Klee noted that for adoption to scale, the technical complexity is increasingly abstracted away from the end consumer. Whether through branded stable-linked cards or digital wallets, the interaction mimics familiar tap-to-pay methods, requiring no new behaviour from the customer.
“It’s the same card-swipe and phone-tap that customers know and love with rebuilt plumbing so the underlying funds settle instantly with better economics for the merchant and the card issuer,” he explained.
With backing from investors including a16z and Sony Innovation Fund, and certification from the NYDFS, Bastion sees this infrastructure as a strategic lever for ecosystems ranging from marketplaces to logistics. By owning the payment layer, businesses can foster direct relationships with consumers and utilise branded currencies to drive engagement.
“Stablecoins are just the enabler,” Klee concluded. “The main event is that enterprises and institutions can move money faster, cheaper, and 24/7 without taking on new regulatory overhead, technical complexity, or forcing their users into new experiences.”
