Payment terminal provider Ingenico has partnered with WalletConnect Pay to enable in-store stablecoin payments on its point of sale (POS) systems, in one of the clearest moves yet to bring cryptocurrency payments into everyday retail transactions.
In a statement sent to Cointelegraph, Ingenico said the integration enables customers to pay with stablecoins, including USDC (USDC), EURC (EURC) and USDt (USDT), directly from WalletConnect-compatible mobile wallets, without relying on conventional card networks.
Supported wallets include MetaMask and Trust Wallet. Transactions are initiated on the terminal and settled via the WalletConnect Pay infrastructure.
Unlike cryptocurrency-linked cards that depend on Visa or Mastercard rails, the fresh setup enables native stablecoin transactions. Payments are sent directly from the user’s wallet and settlement goes to the merchant’s payment provider, positioning stablecoins as an alternative settlement bus rather than an add-on to the card.
Stablecoin payments without fresh hardware and care
Ingenico’s POS terminals are located in 120 countries. The company said it has 40 million terminals worldwide supporting the feature, giving the integration immediate global reach.
Ingenico says the integration is designed to work within merchants’ existing payment stacks and does not require any additional hardware upgrades or changes at checkout.
While Ingenico claims that millions of its terminals are capable of supporting the feature, the company did not provide actual numbers on how many merchants will offer stablecoin payments at launch.
The company says adoption will depend on whether individual merchants and their payment providers choose to enable it.
“In principle, any Ingenico merchant who wants to accept cryptocurrencies can do so,” an Ingenico spokesperson told Cointelegraph, adding that availability depends on the merchants and their payment providers who have enabled the option.
Sellers can also choose how they receive funds, according to a spokesperson. When a customer pays in USDC, EURC or USDT, the merchant can decide whether to settle in stablecoins or convert to fiat based on their requirements and business preferences.
One of the most common obstacles to cryptocurrency payments in physical retail is refunds. According to the spokesperson, refunds are processed as part of standard seller procedures.
“Merchants will be able to process refunds with a simple click of a button on their dashboard or through an automated process,” a spokesperson told Cointelegraph. “WalletConnect Pay aims to ensure the user always pays on the right network and minimize human error.”
Fees and the shape of multi-chain support
WalletConnect CEO Jess Houlgrave told Cointelegraph that the in-store integration is intended to provide lower costs compared to conventional card payments, especially for cross-border transactions.
“Compared to traditional card systems, fees are significantly lower in all cases,” Houlgrave told Cointelegraph, adding that the pricing structure reflects underlying costs, which can vary depending on whether merchants choose to switch to fiat.
Houlgrave said the fees are agreed jointly by WalletConnect Pay, Ingenico and payment service providers. She said the model aims to reward ecosystem participants. It claimed that, combined with faster settlement times, this model could reduce merchants’ need for working capital and improve overall economics.
At launch, WalletConnect Pay will support stablecoin payments on several major blockchains, including the Ethereum mainnet, Base, Arbitrum, and Polygon. She told Cointelegraph that support for Optimism and Solana is expected soon.
While the initial focus is on stablecoins, Houlgrave said WalletConnect Pay is already seeing demand for volatile cryptocurrency payments. “Stablecoins are the entry point for everyday payments, but adding assets like Bitcoin or ETH is on our roadmap,” she told Cointelegraph.
Related: Ethereum needs better decentralized stablecoins: Vitalik Buterin
Meeting the demand for stablecoin payments
The move reflects the rapid development of stablecoins and the growing demand for their apply as a practical payment method.
Ingenico CEO Floris de Kort said the company is seeing growing interest in stablecoin payments. “Our partnership with WalletConnect Pay solves this problem by giving our customers the ability to accept digital currencies as easily as traditional cards,” he said.
Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at cryptocurrency firm Dragonfly, said that stablecoin payments will be “one of the top topics of 2026,” adding that cryptocurrencies will become more deeply integrated with payments this year.
On Friday, Visa-connected stablecoin platform Rain raised $250 million after card volume grew 30x in 2025. The round values Rain at nearly $2 billion, bringing the company’s total funding to $338 million.
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