Checkout.com, an online payment service provider, has rolled out a stablecoin settlement solution using Fireblocks’ new crypto payment technology that allows merchants to accept or make payments round-the-clock.
Fireblocks is a provider of a platform that allows enterprises to move, store, and issue digital assets.
Checkout.com is the first payment service provider to offer merchants automatic fiat-to-stablecoin conversion, according to a June 7 press release.
The payment service provider will initially support USD Coin (USDC), the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization. However, the company said that it plans to embrace more digital assets over time.
Head of Crypto Strategy at Checkout.com Jess Houlgrave said:
“Stablecoins started as a fiat-denominated asset used by crypto traders to easily move in and out of more volatile crypto assets, but we believe they will also play a fundamental role in improving the underlying payment landscape.”
Explaining how the stablecoin settlement solution will impact merchants, Fireblocks Vice President of Payments Ran Goldi said:
“Traditionally, merchant payouts are limited to 9-5 on weekdays excluding public holidays and are further delayed through batch processing over several business days. Checkout.com’s weekend settlement means that merchants are no longer restricted by arbitrary settlement times.”
Before this launch, Checkout.com ran a beta program for the USDC settlement feature. The beta program saw the company handle a settlement volume of over $300 million in USDC.
Checkout.com now seeks to launch the product globally, with FTX being among the first firms to use it.
An increasing appetite for crypto
The news comes after Checkout.com published its report titled “Demystifying Crypto: Shedding light on the adoption of digital currencies for payments in 2022.”
The report noted that 40% of consumers aged 18-35 years plan to use cryptos and stablecoins to pay for goods and services, with 36% of the CFOs surveyed in the report stating said they would like to settle some payments in stablecoins and hold them on their balance sheets.
The increasing appetite for stablecoins comes as B2B transactions involving stablecoins continue gaining popularity among businesses, according to the report.
Previously, Stripe, a Checkout.com rival, resumed Bitcoin (BTC) payments after suspending the service four years ago. The company also rolled out a crypto payout feature that supports USDC payments for Twitter creators.
Meanwhile, financial watchdogs are increasingly trying to regulate stablecoins following the implosion of TerraUSD (UST). In the past week, Japan passed a bill that limits the issuance of stablecoins to licensed banks, registered money transfer agents, and trust companies. The legislation comes into effect in 2023.
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