Top U.S. retailers and travel companies—including Amazon, Walmart, and Expedia—are exploring the use of stablecoins as a way to reduce credit card processing fees, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Merchants have long sought alternatives to Visa and Mastercard, which dominate the payments industry and charge transaction fees ranging from 1% to 3%. For large companies handling billions of dollars in sales, these fees translate into significant annual costs.
Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency tied to a stable asset like the U.S. dollar, could offer a cheaper and faster alternative. Unlike traditional card payments, which can take one to three business days to settle, stablecoin transactions can be completed almost instantly—helping businesses improve cash flow and streamline payments to suppliers, including international partners.
Amazon is reportedly in the early stages of exploring a proprietary stablecoin for online purchases, while other companies are considering external options that could be managed by a shared issuer through a merchant consortium.
Major U.S. banks—including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo—are also exploring a joint stablecoin effort to compete with digital asset platforms that are quickly gaining traction in the financial sector.
However, the future of retailer-backed stablecoins largely depends on the passage of the GENIUS Act, a proposed law that would create a legal framework for stablecoin use in the U.S. The bill has already cleared a procedural hurdle and is expected to face a final vote in the Senate on June 17.
Merchant trade groups, including the Merchants Payments Coalition, are backing the legislation. They argue that clear rules for stablecoins could increase competition in the payments space and drive down costs. Walmart has also pushed for an amendment to the bill that would promote more competition in the credit card industry.
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