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CoverStory

Stablecoin use is soaring Merchants, Fiserv want in on action

The list of companies joining the stablecoin movement and The Wall Street Journal reported that some of the largest
the quantity of stablecoins in circulation grows seemingly merchants in the country, including Amazon and Walmart,
day by day. According to the World Economic Forum, 12 want to get in on the stablecoin action, with an eye toward
billion stablecoins were in circulation in 2020, up from 2 shifting cash and card transactions and saving billions
billion the year before. This year the total is expected to of dollars in processing fees. According to the Journal's
hit 208 billion. reporting, the retailers are waiting to see what happens
with the legislative process before making any moves.
The Forum estimated the total transfer volume hit $27.6
trillion last year, surpassing the volume of Visa and Not to be left out of the action, Fiserv is developing
Mastercard transactions in 2024. the infrastructure needed for its merchants to accept
cryptocurrencies, Mike Lyons, the company's CEO, said in
Because stablecoins are pegged to reserve assets, "they a presentation at the Baird Global Consumer, Technology
tend to maintain a constant value and do not experience and Services Conference on June 3, 2025, according to
severe price fluctuations seen amongst other types of reporting by Payments Dive. Lyons said the impetus is
cryptocurrencies," the WEF noted in a recent paper. Most retailer customers looking for a cheaper alternative to
stablecoins are pegged to the U.S. dollar, although there interchange. Shares of both Visa and Mastercard dropped
are stablecoins linked to other currencies. For example, in response to the news.
there is EURC, which is pegged to the euro, and GYEN,
which is pegged to the Japanese yen.
Patti Murphy is senior editor at Green Sheet and president of ProScribes
Ink, (www.proscribes.net). You can also follow her blog, Today in
Recently, Standard Chartered Bank stated it was Payments, at (Todayinpayments.com), and her podcast, Merchant
partnering with cryptocurrency companies to launch a
stablecoin pegged to the Hong Kong dollar. PayPal also Sales Podcast, co-hosted with James Shepherd at www.ccsalespro.
has a stablecoin (PYUSD), which it describes as being com/podcast.
backed by "highly liquid assets."

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