Payments technology provider Ingenico has entered a partnership with WalletConnect to enable stablecoin payments at physical retail checkouts, marking a notable step in bringing blockchain based payments into everyday commerce. Under the integration, merchants using Ingenico point of sale terminals will be able to accept supported stablecoins directly from customer wallets through WalletConnect Pay. The solution allows consumers to pay from mobile wallets they already use, while funds are settled directly to the merchant’s payment provider without routing transactions through traditional card networks. Ingenico terminals are deployed across millions of locations globally, spanning retail, hospitality, transportation, fuel, parking, vending, and self service environments. The companies position the partnership as a way to make stablecoin payments familiar and frictionless for both merchants and consumers, without requiring new hardware or changes to existing checkout flows.
The integration reflects growing interest among merchants in alternative payment rails that offer faster settlement and lower complexity compared to legacy card systems. WalletConnect Pay enables native stablecoin transactions, allowing value to move directly on chain rather than through intermediated card clearing processes. For merchants, the model is designed to avoid exposure to digital asset volatility, as they are not required to hold stablecoin balances themselves. Instead, acceptance is handled in a way that mirrors existing card payments from an operational perspective. Ingenico has emphasized that the solution is built with compliance and security in mind, aligning with merchant expectations around regulated payment acceptance. The rollout is expected to be made available to acquirers and payment service providers within the month, opening the door for broad distribution through existing merchant acquiring relationships.
The partnership arrives amid a wider industry push to position stablecoins as a settlement layer for real world payments rather than purely crypto native instruments. As regulatory clarity improves and infrastructure matures, payment firms are increasingly exploring how tokenized money can complement or bypass traditional rails. By embedding stablecoin acceptance directly into established point of sale networks, the Ingenico and WalletConnect collaboration highlights how stablecoins are moving closer to mainstream retail usage. The move also underscores a broader convergence between traditional payments companies and crypto infrastructure providers, as both sides seek to capture demand for faster, programmable, and globally interoperable forms of digital value transfer.
