Integrating Crypto into Card Payments
Anthony Peculic, Head of Cards at Cross River Bank, on building a fintech one-stop shop
The real signal is that crypto demand matters most when it plugs into ordinary payment behavior, not when it replaces the whole dollar system overnight. Cross River is pointing at a card and payments market where users want to hold value in crypto, then spend it on normal merchant rails for software, travel, payroll, and everyday purchases. That demand has been most durable when the product hides conversion and compliance complexity behind familiar card or checkout flows.
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The strongest near term use case has shifted from paying merchants directly in BTC to using stablecoins or crypto balances behind the scenes. Rain found business customers usually want bills denominated in dollars, even if treasury sits on chain, because finance teams need predictable accounting and less price volatility.
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The product pattern is already clear. Coinbase Card converts crypto to dollars at purchase time on Visa rails, Stripe lets merchants accept crypto while settling in fiat, and Coinbase One Card turns everyday card spend into bitcoin rewards. Crypto is being added as a funding source or reward layer on top of existing networks.
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This also explains why Cross River cared. As an infrastructure bank for fintechs, it sits in the layer that can sponsor cards, move funds, and manage compliance for partners building these hybrid products. That makes crypto payments less a separate market and more another feature inside banking as a service and card issuing.
Going forward, the winning products will make crypto spending feel boring in the best way. The user will tap a card, scan a checkout, or send payroll, while the platform handles wallet connectivity, conversion, settlement, and controls in the background. That pushes the market toward stablecoin and hybrid payment infrastructure, and toward banks and issuers that can package crypto utility inside standard financial workflows.