Binance Pay has launched USDT payments across PayPay-supported merchants in Japan, enabling eligible users to spend the dollar-linked stablecoin at millions of locations through one of the country's largest cashless-payment networks. The integration, confirmed on September 30, 2026, connects Binance Pay's crypto-facing payment layer with PayPay's established merchant-facing infrastructure.
Under the arrangement, consumers select Binance Pay and fund transactions with eligible USDT. Participating merchants continue receiving settlement through the conventional PayPay system in Japanese yen, meaning shops do not need to hold USDT, manage crypto wallets, or integrate blockchain infrastructure directly. The cryptocurrency is converted as part of the payment process, keeping the merchant side denominated in yen.
PayPay has built one of Japan's largest QR-code payment ecosystems since its 2018 launch and is accepted at convenience stores, restaurants, retailers and other businesses. The integration avoids the difficult process of persuading individual merchants to directly accept crypto.
USDT, issued by Tether, is the world's largest dollar-linked stablecoin by circulating supply. Binance re-entered Japan through its acquisition of Sakura Exchange BitCoin and launched Binance Japan in 2023 as a locally regulated operation. The rollout illustrates how crypto payments can expand without requiring retailers themselves to become cryptocurrency businesses.
For Binance, this model offers a larger addressable merchant base than building direct crypto-payment relationships store by store. The significance is that USDT holdings can be converted into spendable purchasing power across PayPay's extensive Japanese network without turning every merchant into a direct Tether counterparty.
