Own the Workflow. Own the Deposit.

Stablecoins are the headline, but workflow ownership is the real battle for community banks. Research-backed insights on deposit defense and SMB banking strategy for 2026.

Own the Workflow. Own the Deposit.

This conversation didn’t start yesterday.

I’ve been thinking for a while about deposit defense, fintech encroachment, and how small business banking is quietly changing beneath the surface.

But listening to Michael Novogratz talk on CNBC yesterday — in the context of stablecoins, regulation, and deposit flight — is what finally pushed me down the rabbit hole.

Not because of crypto hype.
And not because of legislation.

But because of what banks are actually worried about — losing deposits without realizing where or why they’re going.

So I slowed down and did the work.

Fed papers. Treasury commentary. Earnings call transcripts. Payments and embedded finance research. Strategy benchmarks tied specifically to community banks.

Here’s the conclusion I keep coming back to:

Stablecoins are not the real threat.
They’re the accelerant.

The real issue is that fintechs are capturing the workflows where small business cash flow actually lives — invoicing, collections, reconciliation, treasury visibility.

And once someone else owns the workflow, deposits stop feeling anchored.
They migrate. Quietly at first. Then all at once.

That’s when banks stop hearing about opportunities early and start finding out about capital needs after the deal is already done.

I touched on this idea briefly in a recent post about leading with operational value. This is the deeper version of that thinking, grounded in research, not anecdotes.

I pulled everything together into a short, shareable research brief designed for community bank executives and lenders with aggressive growth goals heading into 2026.

If deposit defense, relationship durability, and staying close to your clients’ cash flow matter to you, it’s worth your time.

To learn more and download our full research brief click HERE.