Stablecoins vs. credit cards: The coming $100B US payments battle

"Stablecoins reduce settlement time, cross-border costs and enable programmable rewards. They outpace traditional credit card systems. US merchants pay over $100 billion in card fees yearly. In comparison, stablecoins offer much cheaper, faster payments. Ripple's RLUSD, Gemini's XRP Card and Moca's Air Shop show stablecoins moving into mainstream commerce. With big players exploring adoption, stablecoins are positioned to become central to US payment systems."

"Since stablecoins first emerged in 2014 to provide price stability in the volatile cryptocurrency market, they have redefined traditional banking. They have separated the core functions of storing and transferring money, which allows fintechs to build programmable services on a global digital currency system. Traditionally, businesses accepted card payments, while the remaining functions, including holding deposits and offering additional services and tools, were the banks' domain."

"Stablecoins have largely replaced this with an ecosystem where most are centrally issued but operate on decentralized networks rather than a centralized entity. Moreover, it reduces cross-border transfer times, lowers costs, stabilizes fund values and introduces flexible reward systems that outpace credit cards. Each time a credit card is used in the US, banks and payment networks take a small portion of the transaction, typically 1.5%-3.5%."

Stablecoins reduce settlement time, lower cross-border costs, and enable programmable rewards while offering cheaper, faster payments compared with credit cards. US merchants incur over $100 billion annually in card fees, with per-transaction fees typically 1.5%–3.5%, cutting merchant profits and increasing consumer prices. Since 2014, stablecoins have separated storing and transferring money, enabling fintechs to build programmable services on global digital currency rails. Most stablecoins are centrally issued but operate on decentralized networks, enabling faster cross-border transfers, stabilized values, and flexible rewards. Major products like Ripple's RLUSD, Gemini's XRP Card, and Moca's Air Shop demonstrate mainstream commerce adoption and growing industry positioning.

Read at cointelegraph.com