Global payments firm Checkout.com is accepting stablecoins as a part of a broader strategy to enter the crypto market.
According to a report by CNBC, the $40 billion startup has announced that it will support round-the-clock settlement for merchants via Circle’s fiat-backed stablecoin USD Coin (USDC). The payments platform will conduct its crypto transactions through a partnership with Fireblocks. This feature will enable merchants to accept and make payments in USDC.
According to the press release issued by Checkout.com, Ran Goldi, Vice President of Payments at Fireblocks, had this to say:
“At Fireblocks, we believe that every business will become a digital assets business with the advent of Web3. Traditionally, merchant payouts are limited to 9-5 on weekdays excluding public holidays and are further delayed through batch processing over several business days.
“Checkout.com’s weekend settlement means that merchants are no longer restricted by arbitrary settlement times. With our in-house team’s deep knowledge and expertise in digital asset payments, Fireblocks looks forward to our continued collaboration with Checkout.com to bring even more game-changing solutions to the payments space.“
And Jess Houlgrave, Head of Crypto Strategy at Checkout.com, stated:
“Stablecoins started as a fiat-denominated asset used by crypto traders to easily move in and out of more volatile crypto assets, but we believe they will also play a fundamental role in improving the underlying payment landscape— the fact that we’re the first full stack payments provider to successfully pilot an end-to-end solution with weekend merchant-side settlement capability is testament to our commitment to crypto.
“We’re investing heavily to ensure we can fulfil our mission to enable businesses and their communities to thrive in the digital economy – which we believe includes Web3 and as we see the market reaction, we hope to see more merchants, both crypto native and non crypto native adopt this.“
Checkout.com has reported already testing the feature privately with select clients, conducting $300 million in transactions over the past few months. The report claims the payment platform intends to launch its stablecoin feature globally, with crypto exchange FTX being among the first to gain access to it.
CNBC notes that regulators have stepped up their attention towards the crypto industry following last month’s high-profile collapse of the stablecoin TerraUSD. The UK government has announced a series of new proposals that will give the Bank of England more authority to intervene in stablecoins that pose a risk to market stability.
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