By Ray Birch
DOVER, Del.—A major disruption is coming to the credit union business model—and it’s arriving faster than most expect. Stablecoins, long considered a crypto-side curiosity, are on the verge of becoming a mainstream payments rail. And with that transition comes the potential erosion of one of credit unions’ most important revenue streams: interchange fees, cautions one analyst.
In 2024 alone, credit unions collectively earned $71.2 billion in interchange revenue. That number represents more than just swipe fees—it’s a foundational source of income that underwrites many of the financial services credit unions provide to members at little or no cost, said Kian Sarreshteh, CEO of InvestiFi, a fintech helping credit unions prepare for the stablecoin shift.
But in a future where major retailers like Amazon, Apple, and Walmart issue their own stablecoins—and payment networks like PayPal integrate stablecoin rails—credit unions could find themselves disintermediated. When a consumer uses a stablecoin to pay a merchant directly, there’s no need for Visa or Mastercard, and no interchange fee flowing back to the financial institution.
“Besides digital investing, it’s the biggest commercial threat to credit unions right now,” said Sarreshteh. “If stablecoins become a mainstream payment option—and all signs point to that happening—credit unions’ traditional revenue streams are going to decline.”
The Shift Is Coming—Fast
While stablecoins aren’t yet widely accepted at the point of sale, Sarreshteh warns that reality could change within the next two years, and possibly as soon as next summer. Circle’s USDC stablecoin recently outperformed expectations in its IPO. Tether remains the most widely used globally. Meanwhile, PayPal has launched its own dollar-pegged coin and Amazon, Apple, and Walmart are reportedly developing theirs.
“There are billions of dollars being poured into this ecosystem,” Sarreshteh noted. “Stablecoins are no longer a crypto experiment—they’re becoming the backbone of next-generation payments.”
Kian Sarreshteh
What Credit Unions Can Do—Right Now
Despite the existential threat, stablecoins also present a powerful opportunity. The Genius Act, passed with support from credit union and community bank advocates, prohibits institutions from paying interest on stablecoin balances. This regulatory restriction could work to credit unions’ advantage, Sarreshteh said.
“When members receive a P2P payment in stablecoins, they’ll want to convert those funds into an interest-bearing savings or money market account,” said Sarreshteh. “And that’s where credit unions can win—by offering seamless auto-conversion and capturing those deposits.”
That’s exactly what InvestiFi is enabling. The company, already working with more than 15 credit unions, has built the first multi-coin regulated crypto solution in the U.S. that’s been live with credit unions since 2023, and will soon be able to convert stablecoins to fiat and back in near real-time using the banking core. One of its newest features is auto-conversion, which turns incoming stablecoin payments into traditional deposits that generate yield for members—and deposit growth for the credit union.
Revenue Beyond Interchange
While interchange revenue may shrink, Sarreshteh points to other emerging sources of income. Credit unions using InvestiFi’s digital asset platform generated an average of $4.84 per member per month in crypto transaction fees during the first half of 2025. Members who receive stablecoins could use those funds to invest in stocks or crypto, generating new revenue streams without relying on swipe fees.
“There won’t be fees for buying and selling stablecoins,” Sarreshteh said, “but if you enable members to use them as a bridge into other digital financial services, that’s where value gets created. That’s the new model.”
Act Before the Curve Steepens
The adoption curve for stablecoins may still be in its early stages, but credit unions don’t have the luxury of time. Sarreshteh suggests that every institution start by calculating how much of its revenue currently comes from interchange and consider what happens if half of that disappears.
“Credit unions have a narrow window to embrace this shift safely and strategically,” he said. “Those who move now will not only protect their relevance—they’ll shape the future of member-centric digital banking.”
With regulators racing to define the rules and tech platforms moving faster than ever, stablecoins are poised to remake the payments landscape. For credit unions, the challenge is clear—but so is the opportunity, Sarreshteh added.
Summary—What Credit Unions Should Do Today to Prepare for Stablecoins:
- Audit Interchange Exposure: Determine how much of the CU’s income depends on swipe fees
- Educate Leadership: Bring stablecoin risk and opportunity into board and executive discussions
- Explore Auto-Conversion: Partner with fintechs, such as InvestiFi, to turn stablecoin inflows into deposit growth
- Leverage the Genius Act: Use regulatory advantages to incentivize members to move stablecoins into interest-bearing accounts
- Develop Digital Asset Services: Enable members to invest or transact with stablecoins to create new fee-based revenue streams