Stablecoins are finally reaching everyday commerce

Stablecoin payments hit the high street. Ingenico’s Autumn Flora and WalletConnect’s Steven Dolcemaschio discuss their new infrastructure for global commerce.

Last month, a café in Lisbon became one of the first merchants to accept stablecoin payments through standard point-of-sale terminals, the same hardware already used for card transactions worldwide. A customer scanned a QR code at the terminal, approved payment in their wallet, and the merchant received settlement in their preferred currency instantly. The customer wasn’t a crypto hobbyist. They were a freelance designer paid in stablecoins for international work, spending directly from their wallet without first converting funds through banks or exchanges. For more than a decade, crypto payments have promised faster and cheaper money movement. The technology has been ready for years. What changed is the infrastructure required to enable these transactions securely, at a global scale, through the same payment acceptance network merchants already know. The gap is now closing. An integration between Ingenico and WalletConnect Pay brings together distribution, trust, accessibility, and technology to deliver what has been promised since Bitcoin’s inception: digital currency payments that simply work at checkout.

Jess Houlgrave, CEO of WalletConnect, explains: ‘For years, paying with crypto was a dream. WalletConnect Pay changes that by connecting hundreds of wallets directly to the payment infrastructure that merchants already use. Together with Ingenico, we’re making stablecoin payments as simple as scanning and approving, no new hardware, no friction.‘

Ingenico plays a pivotal role in enabling this shift. As the global leader in payment acceptance and services, the company has tens of millions of devices deployed across more than 120 countries, powering payments for retail, hospitality, transport, fuel stations, vending, and self-service environments. This footprint means stablecoin acceptance can be activated where people already shop, without requiring merchants to adopt new devices or redesign checkout flows.

WalletConnect complements this scale as the largest wallet connectivity network in crypto, with more than 700 wallets and powering more than USD 400 billion in transaction volume in 2025, including hundreds of billions in stablecoin payments. Its interoperable network is key to accessibility. Without a common connection layer, merchants would need to integrate wallets individually; this is a mammoth task for those entrenched in crypto and an impossible task at scale. Through WalletConnect Pay, any compatible wallet can connect securely to merchant checkout flows without new hardware or custom integrations. Despite the sophisticated technology, the experience remains simple. At checkout, the Ingenico terminal displays a QR code. Consumers scan it with any compatible wallet, approve the transaction, and WalletConnect routes it securely. Depending on the payment service provider’s configuration, funds can be converted to fiat or settled in stablecoins. From the merchant’s perspective, it’s simply a software upgrade to hardware already in place. Staff do not require retraining. The complexity of blockchain integration is handled behind the scenes by Ingenico’s APIs.

Floris de Kort, CEO of Ingenico, notes: ‘Merchants want to accept new payment methods without disrupting their operations. By integrating WalletConnect Pay across our estates globally, we enable merchants to accept stablecoin payments through the same devices they use every day, opening checkout to a new generation of consumers while keeping the experience familiar for our customers.’

Perception of and use cases for stablecoins have evolved rapidly in the past year, creating a new environment for stablecoin use at checkout.

First, regulatory clarity is emerging. Frameworks such as the MiCA now establish comprehensive rules for stablecoins, giving payment providers and merchants a clearer operational footing.

Second, stablecoin adoption has expanded far beyond trading. Businesses increasingly use stablecoins for cross-border payments, payroll, and supplier settlements, particularly in regions where traditional rails remain slow or expensive.

For merchants, the updates are clear: there is growing consumer demand. Millions of people worldwide now hold stablecoins, including freelancers, remote workers, and participants in digital economies who earn in digital dollars. Spending directly removes friction and conversion costs. Lower costs benefit merchants serving international or digitally native customers, where traditional cross-border processing fees run higher.

And faster settlement improves cash flow. Card transactions typically settle in days - stablecoins can settle in minutes. Stablecoins do not replace existing payment methods. Payments evolve by adding options, not removing them. Cards, account-to-account transfers, mobile wallets, and stablecoins will coexist, each serving different needs. What changes now is distribution. By connecting hundreds of wallets to the infrastructure already powered by Ingenico’s global terminal footprint, stablecoin payments move from niche experiments to practical retail reality. The Lisbon café pilot demonstrates that stablecoin payments are no longer theoretical. They work on terminals already deployed worldwide, within checkout flows merchants already understand, and across wallets consumers already use. With Ingenico enabling acceptance at scale, stablecoin payments finally have the infrastructure and reach to operate in global retail environments. The question is no longer if stablecoins arrive at checkout, but how quickly consumers choose to use them.

This editorial is part of the Global Stablecoins Report 2026. Explore how stablecoins are moving from hype to utility for banks, merchants, and fintechs.

About Autumn Flora

Autumn Flora is Chief Marketing Officer of Ingenico, bringing nearly 25 years of marketing leadership across fintech, payments, SaaS, and global technology companies. She is known for transforming marketing into a strategic driver of growth through stronger brand positioning, deeper customer engagement, and global go-to-market leadership. Previously, she served as CMO at Transact Campus and spent nearly two decades in senior leadership roles at ACI Worldwide.

 

About Steven Dolcemaschio

Steven has spent his 15+ year career at the intersection of culture, commerce, and technology — from running renowned independent record label Tee Pee Records to building global brands at Nike, Converse, and Sonos. He joined crypto security pioneer Ledger to lead brand marketing in 2021 and is currently CMO of WalletConnect, where he's focused on scaling crypto and stablecoin payments for the next generation of global commerce.

 

About Ingenico

 

Ingenico is a global leader in payment acceptance and services, helping customers and partners do more with commerce. With over 3,000 employees across 32 countries and more than four decades in business, Ingenico has been at the forefront of the evolving commerce landscape. Tens of millions of Ingenico devices are deployed in over 120 countries and powered by more than 2,500 applications, supporting millions of consumers every day. Through advanced integrated solutions and a broad partner network, Ingenico simplifies payments and delivers value-added services that help businesses grow and move commerce forward.

About WalletConnect

 

WalletConnect is the infrastructure powering crypto and stablecoin payments at a global scale. Founded in 2018, the WalletConnect network connects over 500 million users across 700+ wallets and all major blockchains, powering more than USD 400 billion in transaction volume in 2025. Its flagship product, WalletConnect Pay, enables payment providers and merchants to easily and compliantly accept stablecoin and crypto payments, with low-cost, instant settlement through a single integration.