Lawson Brings Stablecoin Payments to Stores in Japan’s First POS Trial, Eyeing 14,697 Locations

Key Takeaways:

• Lawson to implement Japan’s first POS-integrated stablecoin payment trial with JPYC.
• The pilot begins at a convenience shop in Tokyo in early August using HashPort.
• The test might spur more widespread use of stablecoins for everyday transactions.

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Stablecoins are slowly beginning to transition from crypto trading and remittances to consumer spending. Japan’s Lawson, the country’s third-largest convenience store chain, is preparing a landmark pilot that could show how regulated digital assets fit into mainstream retail.

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The company will start a proof-of-concept trial at its Takanawa Gateway City store in Minato Ward, Tokyo, early in August. Customers will be able to pay using the yen-pegged stablecoin called JPYC with a QR code that’s printed on the stablecoin and then scanned by the retailer at the point-of-sale (POS) terminal.

The payment infrastructure is being developed with digital asset wallet provider HashPort. After the barcode is scanned, HashPort updates the customer’s JPYC balance based on the completed transaction.

According to Lawson, this is the first stablecoin payment trial in Japan directly connected to a retail POS system. The stablecoin transaction is not an addition to the store checkout process but rather a plug-and-play addition, feeding into current checkout processes and the purchase record, payment timing and sales data.

Before expanding the service the company will know if the system is stable, whether transactions will be fast and efficient.

The trial is different from previous crypto payment experiments in that it is designed for integrating stablecoins as a part of regular retail activities, not as isolated blockchain payments.

Read More: $33 Trillion Stablecoin Boom: USDC Leads as Crypto Payments Race Toward $56T by 2030

Stablecoins aim to have a 1:1 ratio to fiat dollars by holding bank deposits, or short-term bonds issued by the government. In addition to price stability, they can decrease merchant payment fee from traditional card networks or QR code payment methods.

The payment procedure is still the same for customers. They just display a barcode on their wallet and employees operate the same checkout technology already in place at Lawson every store.

The integration of the POS could simplify the process for retailers to accept stablecoins as payment since they would not require additional payment terminals or a completely new store control system.

Over the course of the last year, there were progressive increases in the number of lawfully regulated examples of stablecoins in Japan. Online, some Chibo restaurant sites have launched JPYC payments, and a couple of dental clinics in Tokyo and Chiba Union announced that they will accept it too, earlier this year.

Japan’s three biggest banking groups, MUFG, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank, are also making moves on the stablecoin.

Lawson’s experiment is also applicable to a larger part of the world. Stablecoins are now seen as more than just a trading asset for cryptocurrencies but as a payment system as well.

That change is echoed in industry forecasts. With favorable adoption scenarios, the global stablecoin market, which reached around $282 billion last year, could grow to range from $1.9 trillion to $4 trillion by 2030, according to Citi.

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