Geetha Panchapakesan (Tesser) on Enabling FIs to Utilize Stablecoins (EP.680)

The payments landscape has undergone a seismic shift over the past decade, moving from paper‑based settlements to real‑time digital transfers. Geetha Panchapakesan’s career mirrors this evolution, beginning in legacy card networks before pivoting to the nascent stablecoin arena. Stablecoins, pegged to fiat currencies, promise the speed of blockchain with the price stability required by regulated institutions. As central banks and regulators worldwide draft clearer frameworks, the friction that once kept traditional banks away from crypto assets is diminishing, setting the stage for broader institutional participation.

Tesser’s core proposition is a unified, API‑driven solution that abstracts the complexity of stablecoin integration. By offering a single onboarding flow, the platform enables financial institutions, payment service providers, and money‑service businesses to issue, redeem, and settle stablecoins without building separate blockchain stacks. This reduces development costs, shortens time‑to‑market, and ensures compliance through built‑in AML/KYC modules. For banks, the ability to offer instant cross‑border payments and programmable money opens new product lines, while PSPs gain a competitive edge by supporting crypto‑fiat transactions within existing merchant ecosystems.

Regulatory momentum, particularly the post‑GENIUS guidance, provides the much‑needed legal certainty for stablecoin deployment. The framework clarifies capital requirements, consumer protection standards, and reporting obligations, allowing institutions to scale stablecoin services responsibly. As a result, we can expect a surge in pilot programs and full‑scale rollouts, driving liquidity into the stablecoin market and pressuring legacy correspondent banking networks. In the coming years, firms that adopt integrated stablecoin platforms like Tesser will likely capture a disproportionate share of the emerging digital‑payments ecosystem, positioning themselves at the forefront of the next wave of financial innovation.