Barclays Bank Begins Exploring Blockchain for Payments

Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available. Barclays, one of the biggest banks in the United Kingdom, has revealed it has started exploring the potential use of blockchain in digital payments. As reported by Bloomberg, the financial firm is reaching out to technology providers that are developing related products for payment services. Advertisement Barclays to join rival banks According to sources familiar with the matter, Barclays has issued a request for information to potential suppliers. The goal here is to develop new products to cater to its now diverse customer base. Per the report, the goal is to select a suitable supplier by April this year. While there are different aspects of evolution in the crypto world, this new initiative from Barclays may focus on stablecoins and tokenized deposits. In the past year, crypto payments firms like Ripple Labs have been developing capabilities to advance tokenized funds. Ripple even partnered with the U.K.’s Aviva Investors to advance these tokenization efforts. With the United Kingdom gradually warming up to new blockchain advances, Barclays efforts trail those of JPMorgan Chase. The American banking giant has been exploring crypto offerings for banking services for a long time. In earlier reports, JPMorgan clearly favored Bitcoin over gold , a rare shift at a time when risk assets were facing a significant downturn in the macro market. This pivot is another signal that banks are becoming more pro-blockchain. Stablecoin competition heating up You Might Also Like Fri, 02/27/2026 - 15:09 XRP Ledger Fails to Break Three Million Threshold: Will Price Be Affected? By Arman Shirinyan With regulatory clarity improving in multiple regions, the push into payments, with stablecoins in focus, has grown remarkably. From the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation in the European Union to the GENIUS Act in the United States, the financial market has made a big shift into Web3. While the details of Barclays’ blockchain payments explorations are still speculative, fintech firms like Stripe and Revolut are already planning to launch their stablecoins . While the dominant pair to compete with includes USDT and USDC, Ripple’s RLUSD is beginning to gain broader market traction.