Shopify is enabling merchants to accept payments in the USDC stablecoin, simplifying global transactions. This feature allows merchants to “sell to a customer on the other side of the world as easily as their next-door neighbor,” according to a Thursday blog post by Shopify.
Developed in collaboration with Coinbase and Stripe, the new payment option utilizes Coinbase’s Base network for secure, fast, and cost-effective money transfers. Customers can pay using USDC from hundreds of supported crypto wallets, while merchants have the choice to receive local currency or claim USDC directly in their own wallets.
Regardless of the payment method chosen, merchants will face no foreign transaction or exchange fees. Shopify noted that adopting stablecoins helps merchants access global markets and participate in borderless commerce.
Coinbase announced the feature launched with early access merchants on Thursday and will roll out to stores worldwide later this year. Coinbase highlighted Base’s fast and inexpensive onchain transactions as key to mainstream crypto payments and advancing its mission to bring a billion people onchain.
Stripe confirmed in a blog post that the feature will become available to Shopify merchants in 34 countries within weeks. Enabled by Stripe Connect, the partnership aims to extend the benefits of stablecoins to numerous businesses without disrupting their current operations.
“Now those businesses can reach more markets at lower costs — all without having to change how they already run their business,” said Neetika Bansal, head of money movement at crypto, Stripe.