Shopify has launched its new stablecoin payment feature by integrating USD Coin (USDC) into Shopify Payments in cooperation with Coinbase and Stripe. Starting in early access on June 12, millions of merchants across 34 countries will be able to accept USDC using their regular checkout workflows (guest checkout, Shop Pay, and hundreds of crypto wallets) without any separate gateway or integration needed.
Customers pay in USDC on Coinbase’s Base network. Merchants can choose to receive funds in USDC directly or have them converted into local currency by default. There are no foreign exchange fees. In the US and select regions, merchants earn up to a 0.5 % rebate on USDC orders, and customers will receive a 1 % cashback later this year.
Why This Matters Today
Speed and cost: Transactions on Base settle in around 200 milliseconds, and fees often stay below $0.01, which is significantly cheaper and faster than typical credit-card or wire transfers.
Commerce flow support: Shopify and Coinbase created a smart contract-based payment protocol that supports authorization, delayed capture, refunds, tax calculations, and inventory holds, similar to traditional card processing but powered by blockchain.
Global reach: Merchants can sell across borders without FX charges or exchange delays. USDC has over $1 trillion in monthly transaction volume, growing rapidly over the past year.
Bigger Picture: Stablecoins Going Mainstream
Stablecoins (A.K.A., digital assets pegged one-to-one to traditional currencies) are growing fast. Their total market includes over $210 billion in circulation. Over $700 billion of transactions took place in April 2025, which is a big increase from about $520 billion the year before.
Banks like Bank of America and giants such as PayPal, Visa, Stripe, and Standard Chartered have all shown interest. They see stablecoins as efficient tools to modernize cross-border money movement. Meanwhile, regulators in the US and EU are advancing stablecoin rules, helping reduce risks tied to reserves and fraud.
Still, there are open questions around chargeback insurance, fraud tracking, consumer protection, and how legal liability will work on blockchain rails.
What Merchants Should Know
- Transactions clear in real time, boosting cash flow and reducing settlement delays.
- Fees drop drastically, saving merchants money compared with credit-card rates.
- Same buyer experience—USDC payments fit into familiar checkout with refunds and capture features intact.
- Risk & compliance: Merchants should check how chargebacks, fraud disposal, and record-keeping will work with blockchain-based payments.
Stay Ahead of Disputes with Chargeblast
Stablecoin transactions move fast, but that speed can come with risk if your dispute processes aren’t ready. Chargeblast helps merchants using Shopify and Stripe stop chargebacks before they start, whether it’s a crypto wallet mix-up, missing delivery confirmation, or refund confusion. Get ahead of disputes with real-time alerts and evidence tools built for this new payment flow.
