FIS Eyes Tokenized Deposits and Stablecoins to Move Money Faster

When the payments industry talks about the “future of money,” the conversation often revolves around abstract visions spanning decentralized finance, tokenized assets and frictionless global transfers.

But for FIS, a $14 billion FinTech giant serving 10,000 customers worldwide, the future isn’t just an idea. It’s a product roadmap. And in late 2024, that roadmap took a concrete turn toward stablecoins through a strategic partnership with Circle, the issuer of USDC.

“We help where money is in motion. We help when money is at rest, and we help when money is at work … Stablecoin is a method and a vehicle to transfer between A and B, whether it’s consumer-to-business, business-to-business or person-to-person—quicker, faster, more programmable,” Himal Makwana, global head of corporate strategy at FIS, said during a discussion hosted by PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster.

FIS already had the infrastructure: its Money Movement Hub, a payment orchestration engine that connects real-time payment rails like the RTP® Network, the FedNow® Service, and same-day ACH.

Adding USDC was, in Makwana’s words, “a natural decision.”

“Stablecoin is just yet another real-time payment rail,” he said.

From Real-Time Payments to Stablecoins

For existing Money Movement Hub clients, the stablecoin pitch is straightforward: by the end of 2025, USDC support will simply be another module. For new prospects, the value proposition extends beyond stablecoins to payment orchestration as a whole.

“We’re flexing both our payments muscle and our digital asset muscle,” Makwana said, noting “tremendous strong interest and inbound” from banks.

Yet early conversations with financial institutions tend to revolve around one immediate concern: do clients need to worry about holding this on their balance sheets?

“The top answer we’ve given is no … All the wallets, the infrastructure, the compliance, the custody [will be handed by our selected partners, including Circle,]” said Makwana.

Timing also helped, with Circle having recently gone public.

“It was very important to us that we chose a partner that had scale, trust, a bar for compliance and regulation that was as high as ours,” Makwana said. “If a company has just gone through an IPO … you’ve already been battle-tested.”

For banks, adopting blockchain-based payments isn’t just a technology decision but a fundamental risk calculus. From onboarding to funding to transacting, risk points are scattered across the chain. For their own part, FIS and Circle are leaning on specialized partners like Sardine for compliance monitoring and fraud detection.

“We are putting … the highest bar on trust and compliance,” Makwana said, noting FIS’s six-decade reputation in financial services.

Still, Webster pointed out the sector’s reality: “As a payment alternative, it’s still quite nascent.”

In cross-border payments, blockchain’s advantages of speed, cost and immutability are clear. But the economics aren’t always favorable. Large banks often secure wholesale FX rates cheaper than blockchain gas fees, and “last mile” delivery costs can erode savings.

Makwana acknowledged the challenge, especially given that an estimated 95% of stablecoin activity today supports crypto trading. But he believes adoption will follow as more consumers and businesses acquire wallets. Domestically, Makwana sees the stablecoin sandwich model as a way to connect fragmented systems for USD-to-USD transfers, accelerating wallet adoption and building network effects.

“If I have it, I’m going to send it. If I can receive it, I’m able to send … It’s going to create the supply and demand effect at scale,” he said.

The Roadmap From Payments to Tokenized Deposits

Large corporates like Amazon and Walmart could one day prove to be natural adopters of private, permissioned coins, given their scale and internal liquidity. But for now, interoperability remains an obstacle, particularly given the complexity of treasury management systems (TMS) as a major barrier.

“These are either custom-built over 20, 30 years … How is that going to accept introducing stablecoin or crypto as a new thing?” Makwana noted.

Beyond technology, entrenched bank–corporate relationships complicate matters. Moving funds out of a primary bank can affect credit lines, pricing and strategic ties.

“It’s extremely complex and nuanced,” Makwana said. “More than meets the eye.”

At the same time, while technology hurdles dominate early conversations, the long-term viability of stablecoins as a payment rail will depend on sustainable economics.

“You’ve got gas fees, regulatory compliance, monitoring fees … All of these add up,” Makwana said. “How do you get it to a point where it’s on par with a traditional real-time payment network fees?”

Webster pointed to the underlying tension: “It comes down to the willingness to cannibalize business as usual, but also recognize what the business model is that underpins this new way of moving money.”

When it comes to tokenized deposits, the blockchain innovation separately set to potentially rewrite financial services, they will also require industry-wide coordination.

FIS is already in talks with major banks planning their own coins, as well as industry groups, and is running requests for proposals with vendors who say they offer compliant tokenization on permissioned blockchains.

Webster called tokenized deposits “huge” for the industry, and Makwana agreed:

“This is the next biggest thing to solve for our customers,” he said.

Ultimately, banks will choose payment rails based on “the path of least resistance,” Makwana said, meaning the lowest barriers across risk, compliance, fraud prevention and technology migration.

“We stay committed on making sure we stay either in line with or ahead of the next trend, which we believe to be tokenized deposits,” he said.