USBC appoints ex-Apple Pay executive to lead partnerships

USBC has appointed Dave Baldwin as Head of Partnerships, adding a former Apple Pay and Cash App partnerships executive to its senior leadership team.

Baldwin has joined the publicly listed technology company to lead strategic partnerships, commercial growth and ecosystem development for its tokenised deposit and digital payments platform. He will manage relationships across banks, payment networks, fintech groups, infrastructure providers and corporate partners.

The appointment comes as USBC pushes ahead with a tokenised deposit offering tied to US bank dollars. It has also expanded its pilot programme to an invite-only group of external customers following internal testing of the platform.

USBC is developing what it describes as a US dollar-denominated tokenised deposit that operates on blockchain technology with embedded digital identity. After a full market launch, partners will be able to integrate widgets into their own platforms for payments, wallets, rewards and programmable money.

According to USBC, Baldwin previously worked on partnerships at Apple Pay and Cash App. His background includes payments, digital identity, merchant platforms and financial services partnerships.

Greg Kidd, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of USBC, said the hire reflects the company's partner-led approach.

"Dave has a track record of success scaling digital wallets, digital identity, payments, and merchant platforms across some of the most successful financial ecosystems in the industry," said Greg Kidd, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, USBC. "He has been at the center of partnerships that helped scale Apple Pay and Cash App. Dave has the unique skill sets needed to lead our developer-first partnerships strategy."

Platform build-out

The Reno-based company is positioning partnerships as central to how it plans to distribute its services. Its strategy focuses on enabling other platforms and developers to embed financial tools rather than requiring end users to adopt a standalone product.

That model increases the importance of agreements with banks, payment networks and fintech operators, which are likely to shape how widely the company's tokenised deposits can be used. By hiring an executive with experience in large consumer payment ecosystems, USBC appears to be reinforcing that part of its plan.

Baldwin said market interest has grown in recent quarters.

"Tokenized deposits represent one of the most significant shifts in financial infrastructure in a generation, and USBC has already established a head start," said Dave Baldwin, Head of Partnerships, USBC. "I have seen strong interest in the last few quarters from current and prospective ecosystem partners in the infrastructure and platform we have built. I have spent my career growing and developing the partnerships that allow financial platforms to reach scale, and I am incredibly excited to bring my experience to USBC."

Broader focus

USBC describes itself as a technology company focused on digital assets and banking products. It has also adopted a bitcoin treasury strategy to support development and research across its divisions.

The group trades on NYSE American and has centred much of its current product work on tokenised deposits, an area drawing attention across financial services as firms explore blockchain-based forms of bank money. The latest leadership hire suggests commercial partnerships will be a key test of whether those products move beyond pilot use into broader market adoption.