StablecoinsFinance

Checkout.com has become the first payment service provider to launch weekend and holiday settlements for merchants, powered by cryptocurrency.

The UK-headquartered FinTech’s USDC stablecoin settlement solution leverages Fireblocks’s crypto payment technology and makes it the first PSP to deploy automatic fiat-to-stablecoin conversion as merchants receive and process funds from customers.

To date, Checkout.com has facilitated settlement of over $300 million using USDC, a fully collateralised and redeemable USD-pegged stablecoin, via its private stablecoins settlement beta program. 

During the beta, Checkout.com says it successfully tested, refined and optimised ways for customers’ online fiat transactions to be paid to merchants through USDC.

“At Fireblocks, we believe that every business will become a digital assets business with the advent of Web3,” said Ran Goldi, VP of payments at Fireblocks. “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.”

Jess Houlgrave (pictured), head of crypto strategy at Checkout.com, said: “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 crypto3. 

“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.”