Shopify just dropped a bombshell: they're rolling out USDC payments for U.S. merchants, and this could be the beginning of something huge. USD Coin (USDC), that trusty dollar-pegged stablecoin from Circle, is about to make its way into Shopify’s checkout system, and I’m not talking about just a small-scale test. This is the most extensive crypto integration Shopify has made so far.
The pilot program kicks off later this month, and Shopify has big plans to roll stablecoin payments out across the U.S. and Europe by 2025. The collaboration with Coinbase and Stripe is what makes this so powerful. Coinbase has helped Shopify create a custom crypto payments protocol using Coinbase’s Base blockchain, making sure everything from chargebacks to refunds can still be managed just like with traditional payments. Meanwhile, Stripe is embedding stablecoin functionality directly into Shopify’s platform, no extra plugins needed.
Cash Back and the Future of Payments
Now here’s the cheeky part: the program will be opt-out. That means stablecoin payments will be automatically switched on. If you're a merchant who doesn't want to accept USDC, you’ll have to manually disable it. But wait, if you do accept USDC, you can earn up to 0.5% cashback on each transaction. That’s some pretty sweet incentive, don’t you think?
And guess what? Later this year, customers paying in USDC will also get in on the cashback action. So, while Shopify has been dabbling with crypto via third-party plugins, this is its first native, platform-wide crypto integration. Big stuff.
I think this is just the beginning. Stablecoins are becoming a big deal; in the past two years, their monthly payment volume has surged from $2 billion to over $6.3 billion. Big names like Visa, PayPal, and JPMorgan are already in the game, and companies like Apple, Meta, and Google are exploring stablecoin use too.
So yeah, Shopify’s stepping up its game in a big way, pushing stablecoin payments into the hands of millions of merchants across 34 countries. This shift towards faster, borderless, and more regulated transactions could very well change the landscape of digital commerce forever. Could this be the future of payments? It sure feels like it.
Richard Adrian
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