Crypto in payments gains traction: stablecoins and bitcoin power new cross-border flows. The payments world is increasingly embracing crypto currencies, especially stablecoins and bitcoin, as key rails for real-world transactions. A new wave of partnerships and product rollouts is bringing digital-asset payouts and transfers into the mainstream, with major players like Mastercard, Cash App, and dLocal leveraging stablecoins to offer faster, more flexible, and more inclusive payment options. Mastercard and Thunes: bringing stablecoin payouts to the foreground. At the Singapore Fintech Festival, Mastercard announced a strategic collaboration with payments infrastructure provider Thunes to enable near real-time stablecoin payouts. Through this integration, Mastercard Move, which already supports payouts to bank accounts, cards, and cash, will now support stablecoin wallets as a new endpoint. Using regulated stablecoins, such as USDC or USDT, this setup gives banks and payment providers new flexibility in how they pay out funds, while giving recipients more choice in how they receive them. The benefits are substantial: 24/7 availability, faster transfers, and broad global reach thanks to Thunes' Direct Global Network, which spans more than 130 countries. Mastercard frames this as a bridge between traditional finance and digital currency - a move supporting financial inclusion by giving underserved markets access to stable, reliable payouts. Cash App rolls out bitcoin spending and stablecoin features. Meanwhile, Cash App (owned by Block, Inc.) launched a major set of updates - its first bundled product release, introducing features across banking, commerce, peer-to-peer payments, and cryptocurrencies. Among the headline changes, Cash App users will soon be able to: * Send and receive stablecoins on the platform, with the app converting them into a USD cash balance. * Pay with Bitcoin using USD, by converting their USD balance into bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network, even if they don't personally hold any BTC. * Discover nearby merchants accepting Bitcoin. Cash App now has a "Bitcoin Map" showing local businesses that take BTC payments over Lightning. * Leverage auto-invest in Bitcoin without fees or spreads, making frequent BTC buying more accessible. * Use an AI-based assistant, Moneybot, that helps users navigate their finances, track spending, and manage savings. Cash App's leadership frames stablecoin support as a complementary layer to bitcoin: while BTC remains "bitcoin-first," stablecoins offer a fast and stable way to move digital dollars. dLocal and Félix: stablecoin-backed remittances on WhatsApp. In a major push into remittances, dLocal, a payments platform focused on emerging markets, has partnered with Félix Pago, a service that lets users send money directly through WhatsApp, to power instant, stablecoin-funded cross-border transfers. Félix funds transfers using USD Coin (USDC), and dLocal converts that into local currency for recipients in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. In pilot tests, transfers landed in recipients' bank accounts in under two minutes, with a success rate near 99%. This mechanism sidesteps legacy correspondent banking delays and reduces volatility risk by using stablecoins. It also introduces more predictability in high-volume remittance corridors. According to dLocal, this solution addresses a core challenge in emerging markets - making remittances more cost-effective, faster, and accessible through familiar platforms like WhatsApp. Why crypto payments matter and what holds the space back. Why this matters: * Speed and Availability: Stablecoins allow for near-instant, 24/7 global payouts, compared to traditional banking rails that may not operate round-the-clock. * Flexibility & Choice: End users and institutions gain more options - crypto wallets become a legitimate payout target alongside cash or bank accounts. * Cost Efficiency: Transactions over digital-asset rails can reduce reliance on costly intermediaries, especially for cross-border and remittance flows. * Financial Inclusion: Underserved users or regions with weak banking infrastructure can benefit from crypto rails that bypass legacy systems. * Innovation: These developments accelerate the convergence of traditional finance and digital assets, building real-world utility for stablecoins and bitcoin. But there are challenges: * Regulatory Uncertainty: Stablecoin regulations vary widely across jurisdictions. While regulated stablecoins like USDC are relatively safe, regulatory clarity, especially around AML/ KYC and cross-border crypto transfers, remains a hurdle. * Liquidity Risks: Ensuring sufficient liquidity of stablecoins, especially in volatile markets, is non-trivial. Providers need efficient treasury systems to manage 24/7 liquidity. * Technology & Infrastructure: Integrating crypto rails into legacy systems demands robust infrastructure, risk controls, and compliance. Not all incumbents are ready. * User Trust & Adoption: Many users are still unfamiliar with digital assets. Educating customers, and ensuring seamless UX (wallets, on-chain addresses, etc.), is critical. * Counterparty & Stability Risks: While stablecoins aim for price stability, backing, reserve audits, and counterparty risk can still concern financial institutions. Looking ahead. The wave of stablecoin adoption seen in these announcements signals a maturation of crypto use in payments. As Mastercard, Cash App, and dLocal build infrastructure and onboard real users, PaySpace Magazine may see stablecoins evolve from a niche tool into a mainstream payments rail. If these pilots scale, the implications are broad: banks and fintechs will be able to offer more flexible payouts; gig-economy workers, freelancers, and cross-border senders will benefit from reduced cost and latency; and digital wallets could serve as more than speculative or investment vehicles. They could become practical tools for everyday money movement. Still, success hinges on navigating regulation, managing liquidity, and ensuring mass-market usability. But for now, these moves make one thing clear: crypto payments are no longer just speculative, they are being wired into the fabric of global commerce. Pay space. Its editorial team delivers daily news and insights on the global payment industry, covering fintech innovations, worldwide payment methods, and modern payment options.

Félix Pago, a Mexican company facilitating WhatsApp-based remittances from the U.S. to LatAm, raised a $75 million Series B round led by QED Investors, with participation from Monashees, Switch Ventures, Castle Island, and HTwenty.