Stablecoin payments allow a customer to settle a purchase using a digital token pegged to a fiat currency, most commonly USDC or USDT, each tied to the US dollar. At checkout the customer pays from a cryptocurrency wallet, while the merchant generally receives conventional money in its local currency. The result is a hybrid arrangement: value moves over a blockchain, but both parties interact with familiar interfaces, including card terminals, online checkout pages, and ordinary bank accounts.
Most stablecoin checkout experiences follow the same basic sequence:
Two settlement models exist. Under direct acceptance, the merchant receives and holds the stablecoins itself, which requires wallet infrastructure and a deliberate decision to retain crypto exposure. The more common model is conversion-based: a payment provider accepts the stablecoin on the merchant's behalf, converts it to fiat, and pays the merchant through conventional rails. Oobit, a payments app backed by Tether, operates in this category, allowing customers to pay from self-custody wallets at card-accepting merchants while merchants receive local currency.
Costs come from three sources: network fees for the on-chain transaction, the conversion spread between the stablecoin and the payout currency, and any service fee charged by the provider. Payment services typically show the exchange rate, the fee, and the final payout amount before the customer authorizes the transaction. On-chain confirmation is usually fast, while the timing of the merchant payout depends on the rail used, ranging from seconds on instant payment systems to one or more business days on traditional bank transfers.
An on-chain stablecoin transfer is a push payment: once confirmed, it cannot be reversed through a card-style chargeback. Refunds are instead issued as new transactions or handled by the payment provider, which may operate its own dispute process. Because providers convert and transmit funds, they generally fall under money-transmission rules, such as authorization under MiCA in the European Union, VASP registration in various jurisdictions, and state money transmitter licensing in the United States. Customers usually complete identity verification at signup, and transactions are screened against sanctions and anti-money-laundering requirements.
The checkout experience varies by channel. Online payments rely on QR codes, deep links, or connected wallets, while in-person payments often use a virtual card stored in a mobile wallet: the customer taps the phone at a standard terminal, the app authorizes the on-chain transfer in the background, and the terminal processes the sale as an ordinary card payment.