Forty-two percent of financial institutions surveyed by PYMNTS identify skills gaps as a barrier to digital-asset adoption.

Fifty-five percent cite institutional-grade infrastructure and operational support as key to unlocking adoption.

An estimated 80% to 85% of digital-asset integration work involves connecting providers to banks’ internal systems and meeting regulatory requirements.

Banks investing in digital money need more than the technology to issue, custody or move digital assets. They need people who can connect those capabilities to the systems and controls already running the bank.

Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

Forty-two percent of financial institutions identify skills gaps as an obstacle to digital-asset adoption, according to PYMNTS Intelligence’s “Building the Foundation for Digital Money,” produced in collaboration with FIS.

The work involved in putting those products into production reaches across technology, payments, compliance, governance and existing banking infrastructure.

The report points to the scale of the integration work. One industry estimate cited in the report puts selecting a digital-asset custodian at only 10% to 15% of the job. The remaining 80% to 85% involves connecting the provider to the bank’s internal systems and meeting regulatory requirements.

That changes the skills banks need. Digital-asset expertise has to work alongside knowledge of core banking systems, settlement, compliance, liquidity and the operational controls required inside a regulated institution.

The demand is arriving as institutions commit more money to the sector. Eighty-eight percent of banks have committed or expect to commit budget to digital-asset infrastructure in 2026, and more than half of institutions that quantified their spending are investing at least $1 million.

Source link