Programmable payments: why crypto isn’t disrupting finance - it’s rewiring it

Learn how crypto payments are reshaping payment ecosystems. Zühlke’s Stefan Grasmann unpacks Web3 payments evolution, UX challenges, and the path to mainstream retail adoption of crypto payments.

Could you tell us more about your professional background and what initially drew you to blockchain, digital assets, and Web3 payments?

The real inflection point came during the DeFi summer in 2020. For the first time, I wasn’t just observing the technology - I was using it. Lending, trading, and liquidity provision were running on open, composable infrastructure. That’s when it became clear that this wasn’t just a new asset class, but a fundamentally different way of designing financial systems. 

Today, my role sits at that intersection. I work with banks, fintechs, and infrastructure providers to translate crypto-native innovation into regulated environments. This shift is not about replacing institutions, but about unbundling and rebundling financial services on programmable rails.

At The Paypers, we aim to bridge the knowledge gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralised finance (DeFi). Your work goes a step further by translating emerging concepts into actionable strategies.

From your experience, how can the industry effectively bridge the gap between innovation and the financial mainstream, particularly in areas like commerce and retail payments? Could you share a few practical examples or key lessons from your work? 

The gap is not between innovation and the financial mainstream, but between new infrastructure and existing operating models. 

Stablecoins are already gaining traction - just not in the way many expected. One pattern is invisible adoption. Payment players like Stripe or PayPal are integrating blockchain-based settlement into their systems without changing the user experience. If this scales, stablecoins will quietly become part of how payments function. 

A second pattern appears where existing systems create friction. In remittances, users accept imperfect UX in exchange for lower costs. What appears fragmented often reflects strong underlying demand. 

A third area is corporate treasury. Stablecoins, combined with tokenised money market funds, allow organisations to move between yield-bearing assets and settlement liquidity in real time. This changes how capital is managed. 

In developed markets, payments already work well. Stablecoins alone are rarely enough to trigger adoption. Their relevance emerges when they enable new financial flows, such as programmable payouts or tokenised assets. 

Bridging the gap, therefore, requires embedding programmable money into real workflows, where it creates outcomes that did not exist before.

In your latest newsletter, you highlighted how the industry has shifted from the original goal of minimising intermediaries toward improving usability, even if that means reintroducing familiar layers.

How do you interpret this evolution, and what does it signal about the future direction of crypto and stablecoin payments?

Users do not want to interact with raw infrastructure. As a result, intermediaries have not disappeared - they have moved up the stack. Instead of controlling the system, they simplify access to it. 

Wallet providers, payment platforms, and infrastructure players are building user-friendly layers on top of open, programmable rails. The system becomes more flexible, while the interface becomes more familiar. 

Wallets are quietly emerging as a new control point. For the first time, users can interact with money and assets in a single environment, making concepts like Open Finance tangible. 

What remains unclear is who will control this interface - banks, platforms like Coinbase, or open ecosystems such as MetaMask. That question will ultimately shape how value is distributed. 

The future of crypto payments is therefore not about eliminating intermediaries but redesigning them.

Do you see Web3 payments becoming a viable option for retail use cases? If so, what unique benefits do they offer compared to existing payment methods, and in which scenarios do they make the most sense? 

Web3 payments will become viable, but not as a universal replacement. 

In developed markets, payment experiences are already highly optimised. Solutions like Apple Pay set a very high bar, and any new method must integrate into that level of convenience. Competing on UX alone is extremely difficult. 

Payments are also not just about moving money - they are about managing risk. Acquirers provide fraud protection, dispute handling, and guarantees. Many Web3 models focus on reducing fees but underestimate the complexity of replacing these services. 

Where Web3 payments make sense is where existing systems create friction. Cross-border payments, platform economies, and emerging markets are strong examples. Here, stablecoins reduce cost, improve access, and enable faster settlement. 

Their real advantage lies in programmability, which becomes accessible to users themselves. Payments can be automated, conditional, and embedded into business logic. 

Web3 payments will not win by replacing cards at checkout. They will enable new financial interactions while gradually rebuilding the trust layers that exist today.

Many argue that the user experience in crypto payments remains a major barrier to adoption. How do you assess the current state of UX in this space, and what improvements are still needed? 

UX is often seen as the main barrier, but the real issue is exposure. 

Users are still confronted with the underlying infrastructure. Managing keys or networks is not a design problem - it reflects incomplete abstraction. 

The best crypto UX is the one you don’t see. 

We are now seeing progress. Blockchain settlement is moving into the background, while technologies such as passkeys, biometric authentication, and device-based key management bring crypto closer to familiar mobile banking experiences. 

Adoption will not come from changing behaviour, but from aligning with it. 

There are still gaps. Recovery processes, transaction clarity, and safety mechanisms need improvement. 

The next phase of UX will focus on removing complexity at the infrastructure level while preserving control and programmability.

How do you view fraud and risk in the context of crypto payments? Are these concerns materially different from those in traditional payment systems?

Crypto does not remove risk - it relocates it. 

In traditional systems, intermediaries absorb risk through reversibility and dispute handling. In crypto, transactions are final and users interact more directly with the system, increasing direct user exposure, particularly to scams and cyber-attacks. 

At the same time, crypto introduces advantages. Transactions are transparent and traceable, and the ecosystem has matured significantly in areas such as AML and monitoring. 

More importantly, risk becomes programmable. Spending limits, transaction conditions, and approval rules can be defined at the smart contract level and made visible to users. This creates more transparent and controllable risk models. 

What is still missing is the safety net for mainstream users. The next phase will be about combining programmability with mechanisms that provide users with confidence and recourse. 

What needs to change, whether in technology, regulation, user experience, or industry collaboration, for Web3 payments to demonstrate clear relevance and achieve broader adoption?

The industry is not lacking technology - it is lacking visible user benefits. 

Adoption will follow when the value is clear. 

Users gain better visibility across their financial position, with money and assets managed in a unified way. Costs can be reduced, particularly in cross-border scenarios. Systems become more open, enabling flexible, plug-and-play services. Settlement becomes faster, enabling new financial interactions. 

The challenge is to make these outcomes accessible in real-world applications where users can experience their value directly.

Which payment service providers, merchants, or projects offering crypto payment solutions are you currently following and consider worth highlighting?  
What are the most important lessons the industry can learn from these examples?

One example I use regularly combines Gnosis Pay and Monerium. Monerium bridges fiat to stablecoins 1:1 via instant SEPA transfers within seconds and without fees. Gnosis Pay connects that liquidity to traditional rails through a Visa card, enabling everyday spending while adding features such as cashback. 

This shows how new infrastructure can integrate with existing systems rather than replacing them. 

On the UX side, the Infinex wallet stands out. By using passkeys and abstracting key management, it reduces friction and aligns with mainstream expectations. 

The lessons are clear. Integration matters more than reinvention, user experience is a key differentiator, and trust is rebuilt through a combination of regulation and programmability.