The TON Foundation has officially launched TON Pay, a new shared payments software development kit (SDK) designed to integrate decentralized crypto payments into applications built on The Open Network (TON). The primary goal is to transform Telegram, with its 1.1 billion monthly active users, into a global crypto checkout layer, starting with Telegram Mini Apps.
TON Pay functions as a wallet-agnostic payment layer, enabling developers and merchants to accept payments in Toncoin (TON) and other tokens on the network (jettons), with specific support for USDT mentioned. The SDK is designed for ease of integration, requiring minimal blockchain expertise and no need to rebuild custom wallet or settlement logic. It supports web apps, backend services, bots, and natively integrates with the TON Connect protocol for wallet authentication.
Key technical features include near-instant on-chain settlement and transaction fees targeted to be below $0.01, making it suitable for micro-payments and everyday consumer transactions. The system supports diverse payment types, including one-time transfers, recurring payments, and subscriptions, and provides merchants with a dashboard and analytics.
The initiative is led by Nikola Plecas, TON Foundation's VP of Payments and a former senior Visa executive, highlighting a blend of traditional finance expertise with blockchain technology. Plecas emphasized the system is built for scale and reliability to handle the transaction volumes of Telegram's massive user base.
By embedding payments directly into the Telegram chat interface, TON Pay aims to eliminate multi-step checkouts and the need for prepaid gas fees, significantly lowering the barrier to crypto adoption for non-technical users. This move strategically positions Telegram closer to a "Super App" model, combining communication and commerce within a single platform.
