Key results

• Stablecoin shortens the settlement time, cross -border costs and enable programmable prizes. They are ahead of conventional credit card systems.

• American merchants pay over $ 100 billion in card fees per year. For comparison, Stablecouins offer much cheaper, faster payments.

• Rlusd Ripple, XRP Gemini card and Moca Air shop show that Stablecoins move to the mainstream trade.

• Thanks to vast players studying adoption, Stablecouins are able to become central for American payment systems.

Because Stablecouins appeared for the first time 2014 To ensure price stability on the unstable cryptocurrency market, they have redefined conventional banking. They separated basic storage and transfer functions, which allows fintechs to build programmable services in a global digital currency system.

Traditionally, companies accepted card payments, while the remaining functions, including storage of deposits and offering additional services and tools, were the domain of banks.

Stablecouins have largely replaced this with an ecosystem in which most are issued centrally, but operate in decentralized networks, not a centralized unit. In addition, it shortens cross -border transfer time, reduces costs, stabilizes the value of funds and introduces versatile prize systems that sell out credit cards.

Every time the credit card is used in the USA, banks and payment networks occupy a compact part of the transaction, usually 1.5%-3.5%. This significantly reduces buyers’ profits and contributes to higher consumer prices. It begins to change thanks to Stablecouins.

This article discusses the costs related to credit cards, how Stablecouins compare with credit cards, cases of using Stablecoin in the industry and how Stablecouins disturbs the credit card industry for the better.

The cost you pay for credit cards

Credit cards are widely used for payment, not only in the US, but all over the world. However, this convenience has high costs. Each transaction includes hidden fees, such as fees for exchange paid by buyers, network fees charged by Visa and Mastercard and other processing costs. These fees, usually from 1.5% to 3.5%, directly cut the profits of sellers.

Companies such as airlines, retailers and compact stores often raise prices to cover these costs, which ultimately affects consumers. The payment system favors card networks, leaving merchants with a compact control. Meanwhile, consumers indirectly pay for network profits.

Stablecouins, set to a fiduat currency, such as an American dollar, offer a solution with faster, cheaper and clearer transactions. Avoiding card networks and lowering fees, Stablecouins can support companies save money and provide better value to consumers.

Do you know? Unlike fixed feedback or point systems, Stablecouins enable programmable loyalty programs. Merchants can adapt prizes between brands, allow customers to trade or save them and ensure that tokens maintain value, transforming how loyalty is earned and issued.

What are Stablecouins?

Stablecouins is a kind of cryptocurrency created to maintain a constant value by determining stable assets, usually an American dollar. In contrast to unpredictable cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH), Stablecouins offer stability, which makes them suitable for daily transactions.

Their value is usually served by cash reserves, low -term American tax securities or similar assets, designed to maintain one token at about one dollar. They combine the speed and performance of blockchain technology with the reliability of the conventional currency.

USDC (USDC), issued by Circle, is Stablecoin, which operates as part of the registration of American money service and publishes regular, third parties of reserves. In December 2024, Ripple launched Ripple USD (RLUSD), providing coins on global stock exchanges after receiving the regulatory consent from the Department of Financial Services in Recent York. These Stablecoin connected to dollars in the US transform the payment system, providing companies and consumers with a profitable, brisk, global alternative to conventional payment methods.

Stablecouins vs. Credit cards: case of a better payment system

Stablecouins are an alternative to credit cards, dealing with the two largest pain points in payments in the USA: high fees and sluggish settlements.

Credit card payments may seem immediate, but buyers usually wait from one to three business days to receive funds. During this delay, they also pay fees of 1.5% -3.5% for transactions that limit margins and often transfer to consumers. Stablecouins settles in blockchain networks, usually in a few seconds to a minute, for a fraction of costs, giving both buyers and customers a faster and cheaper option.

It is not surprising that Stablecouins caught the attention of merchants, airlines and vast retail sellers who are joyful to reduce their dependence on the visa networks and Mastercard. By accepting Stablecouins, they can regain lost revenues, protect strict margins and continue to maintain solid loyalty programs.

The projects are now used by Blockchain powered platforms to facilitate Stablecoin reward points. It helps to maintain value in the real world, ensuring that loyalty programs remain attractive to customers, while ensuring real financial benefits to companies.

Customers are able to really have their reward points, which means that they can save points or transfer them elsewhere to spend outside the platform on which they have been earned.

Here is a table illustrating how Stablecouins compare with credit cards:

Using Stablecouins cases in the credit card industry

Competition between Stablecouins and credit cards does not only apply to lower costs and faster transactions. It also reflects how main companies transform payment systems for end clients and companies.

From credit cards supported by cryptocurrencies to loyalty programs based on Stablecoin, the industry develops imaginative hybrid solutions that combine conventional and up-to-date payments.

Here are two cases of cases that will support you get insight in the way companies improve their payment systems:

Strategic movements of Gemini and Ripple

August 25, 2025, twins introduced XRP credit card in cooperation with Ripple. The card provides up to 4% of the cash return in XRP (XRP) for gas purchases, charging electric vehicles and purchases (with a monthly limitation); 3% for meals; 2% for foodstuffs; and 1% for all other purchases. The prizes are transferred immediately in crypto, and the card does not have annual or foreign transaction fees.

The twins have also adopted Ripple USD (RLUSD) as a base currency for all American commercial courses, simplifying currency conversions. To continue supporting RLUSD, Ripple purchased a rail, a payment platform, for $ 200 millionAdding tools for cross -border payments, virtual accounts and ecosystem automation.

Do you know? In Q2 2025, average The interest rate on credit cards in the US was 21.16%. In the case of bills transferring the balance, the rate was even higher, on average 22.25%.

Retail innovations and e-commerce

The Air Shop, scheduled for the premiere in September 2025, is to transform loyalty programs through Stablecoin driven trade. The platform uses the Air set for protected identity and membership verification, offering adapted prizes. At the base are stable points (Air SP), tokens supported by USD combined with stablecoin, which maintain their value as opposed to conventional loyalty points. These stable points can be used for over 2 million buyers via Bookit.com, including travel, retail, restaurant and luxurious experiences.

Unlike conventional loyalty programs with restrictive apply or decreasing value, Air Shop ensures flexibility and interoperability, allowing users to transfer prizes for brands. Merchants gain a limpid, profitable way to connect with clients, while consumers enjoy trust, flexibility and true economic value.

Potential worth $ 100 billion: how Stablecouins can disturb the credit card industry

In 2024, credit cards were the most popular payment method among American consumers, which is 35% of all transactions. The total amount of purchase was achieved 5.51 trillion dollars In 56.2 billion transactions made with visa and Mastercard products.

Stablecouins questions this exorbitant system, providing almost free transactions, immediate settlements and versatile awards via blockchain technology. If Stablecouins get up to 10-15% of the transaction market, they can redirect billions of savings to merchants and consumers.

Further acceptance of payments and loyalty programs based on Stablecoin by retailers, airlines and e-commerce companies may augment pressure on conventional credit card networks. Such a change would not only transform the payment economy, but also promoted the wider apply of blockchain technology, transferring stablecoin from a niche solution to the central element of American financial infrastructure.

Do you know? The XRP Gemini credit card started in 2025 and is a hybrid model offering the comfort of the credit card with cryptographic prizes. It shows how fintechs mix elderly and modern systems, drawing consumers in payments based on blockchain without forcing them to abandon plastic.

Stablecouins become the basic element of the financial system

Competition between Stablecouins and credit cards goes beyond payment methods. Specifies who will control the flow of money in the digital era. Along with the growing regulatory transparency, institutional support and trust in consumers, Stablecouins offer faster, cheaper and programmable transactions that are highly attractive.

Initiatives such as the Ripple and Gemini offer show how cryptocurrency companies settle in mainstream finances. At the same time, the main retail sellers, such as Amazon and Walmart, are investigating the reserved stablecoin to reduce fees and invent loyalty programs. If these initiatives are successful, they can transform the payment economy, redistributing billions of costs and benefits throughout the ecosystem.

While credit cards remain deeply rooted, Stablecouins powered by blockchain will probably become the basic element of American trade, transforming encouragement, reduction of costs and redefining customer involvement into a payment landscape of $ 100 billion.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Each investment and commercial movement involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making decisions.