Amazon and Walmart Considering Initiatives to Introduce Stablecoins: Report

American retail leaders Amazon and Walmart are exploring the option of introducing their own stablecoins. This initiative may revolutionize the way consumers make online purchases while simultaneously enabling these major retailers to cut down on expensive transaction fees.

Both companies are evaluating the feasibility of developing proprietary stablecoins or possibly aligning with an external stablecoin through a merchant-focused group. Currently, Amazon is in the preliminary phases of its efforts, with discussions around creating a dedicated token usable for shopping on its platform. Similarly, Walmart is also contemplating comparable approaches and advocating for changes in the payment landscape to facilitate digital payment advancements.

Through the adoption of stablecoins, these retail giants could avoid conventional financial systems that impose transaction fees ranging from 1% to 3% for card payments. Such costs can accumulate to significant sums over time for businesses handling large transaction volumes. Utilizing stablecoins presents an avenue to lower these expenses, along with the advantage of near-instant transaction settlements, unlike the delay of one to three business days associated with credit card payments.

This consideration aligns with a broader trend among leading e-commerce platforms beginning to implement transaction systems based on stablecoins. Recently, Shopify announced its plans to fully integrate USD Coin (USDC) payments into its service through Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer-2 network, Base. This feature will be rolled out via Shopify Payments and Shop Pay, with a launch date slated for the end of the year. Additionally, select merchants already have access to this payment option, which includes incentives like 1% cash back in local currency for users.

Nevertheless, the future use of stablecoins by these major retailers could hinge on forthcoming regulations. The proposed GENIUS Act, intended to establish a definitive regulatory framework for digital assets in the U.S., recently advanced in the legislative process but still awaits approval from both the Senate and the House. A vote in the Senate has been scheduled for June 17, while various trade organizations are actively engaging with lawmakers to advocate for its passage. The Merchants Payments Coalition asserts that definitive guidelines for stablecoins could facilitate lower-cost payment alternatives and enhance competition against existing payment giants like Visa and Mastercard.

Simultaneously, prominent U.S. banking institutions, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, are also in the initial stages of discussions regarding the possibility of launching a collaborative stablecoin project.