A new front is opening in South Florida banking, and local institutions are landing on opposite sides of it. Wells Fargo has joined 20 other major U.S. banks — including Bank of America, Citi, Capital One, Goldman Sachs, PNC, TD Bank, Santander, Deutsche Bank and UBS — in a plan announced September 1 to launch a jointly backed, dollar-denominated stablecoin, with euro support to follow. The group is targeting a market launch in the first half of 2027.
Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to hold a steady value, typically pegged one-to-one to the U.S. dollar, and are increasingly used for cross-border payments and institutional settlement. The push follows the GENIUS Act, federal legislation enacted in July 2025 that set the first formal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins in the United States, with full implementation required by January 18, 2027.
Not every South Florida bank is rushing to join in. Banesco USA, which operates branches in Coral Gables, Brickell, East Doral and Hialeah, confirmed it is not using stablecoins under the new consortium plan. Amerant Bank, headquartered in Coral Gables, declined to comment on its stance. The split illustrates a real divide taking shape in how banks serving Miami-Dade’s business community are approaching digital-asset infrastructure — some betting early on bank-issued stablecoins as a payments tool, others staying on the sidelines until the regulatory picture and customer demand are clearer.
For Miami-area business owners, the stakes are practical rather than theoretical. South Florida’s role as a hub for Latin American trade and finance means faster, cheaper cross-border settlement could matter here more than in many other U.S. markets, whenever bank-backed stablecoins actually reach the retail and wholesale customers who would use them. For now, it’s a story worth watching rather than a service worth calling your banker about — the 2027 timeline gives local businesses time to see which institutions commit and how the tools actually work before deciding whether they’re relevant to day-to-day operations.
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Source: Miami Today