Stablecoins in cross-border C2B payments: from alternative to infrastructure

How stablecoins are transforming cross-border C2B payments. Eric Barbier from Triple-A explains what is driving adoption and what comes next.

With stablecoin payment transactions constantly increasing, businesses and customers across all regions are embracing them as faster, cheaper, and more accessible payment methods. The Paypers sat down with Eric Barbier to better understand the reasons behind this growing adoption.

Setting the stage: cross-border commerce in 2026

In early 2026, cross-border commerce is booming, driven by increasing global trade flows. This trend is visible in both emerging and developed markets, where more consumers are purchasing goods and services from international merchants.

One of the main challenges businesses face when moving money internationally is getting paid, especially in emerging markets. Traditional payment options are often not suitable. Many consumers do not have access to cards, are not enabled for international payments, or face spending limits on their cards.

At the same time, demographic trends are shifting. Research from the World Economic Forum highlights ageing populations in Western economies, alongside younger, digitally native workforces emerging in regions such as Africa and Latin America.

According to data from Triple-A, around 500 million people hold stablecoins. A large share of these users is in emerging markets, where access to US dollar accounts is limited or unavailable. One of the key advantages of stablecoins is accessibility. By simply downloading an app, users can hold stablecoins, which are typically denominated in US dollars.

Eric offered practical examples, such as purchasing plane tickets or paying for travel. From a merchant perspective, stablecoins make it easier to accept payments from regions where it was previously difficult, while also reducing fees. Another important benefit is the absence of chargebacks. Once a transaction is recorded on the blockchain, it cannot be reversed, which significantly reduces the risk of fraud.

Merchant adoption: real-world use cases

When discussing implementations, Eric shared examples of companies such as Farfetch and Razor that have integrated stablecoin payments. One of the most interesting insights is that merchants do not want to interact directly with stablecoins. They prefer not to deal with crypto-related processes.

The main reason they choose to work with Triple-A is that they can access a global base of stablecoin users without changing their internal operations. Merchants want their existing processes to remain unchanged. They expect settlements in fiat currencies such as US dollars or euros, depending on their needs. They also want to maintain their reconciliation processes and reporting structures.

As a result, Triple-A operates like a traditional payment service provider, even though the underlying payment method is based on stablecoins.

From alternative to infrastructure

Stablecoins are often described as an alternative payment method. However, they are increasingly becoming part of the core infrastructure of cross-border commerce.

Their efficiency is now being used in the background. For example, Triple-A supports multinational companies with treasury management. A company may have funds in South African rand and want to move value to its headquarters in Europe. In this case, the funds can be converted into stablecoins, transferred across borders, and converted back into US dollars. This process is often faster and more cost-effective than traditional banking channels.

Looking ahead

Triple-A reports strong growth and increasing market interest, especially following regulatory developments such as the GENIUS Act in the United States, which has improved confidence in the ecosystem.

Over the next two to three, Eric expects stablecoin rails to handle between 10 and 20 percent of cross-border payments over the next two to three years.

To learn more about how merchants can integrate and benefit from crypto payments, watch the full conversation.

About author

Eric Barbier is the Founder and CEO of Triple-A, a globally licenced payments institution that specialises in stablecoin-based payment infrastructure. A serial entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience in mobile and payments, he previously founded and scaled Mobile 365 (acquired by SAP) and the cross-border payments platform TransferTo (now Thunes and DTOne).

 

 

About Triple-A

Triple-A is a globally licenced financial institution that enables businesses to send, receive, and convert money through a unified platform that connects traditional banking rails with stablecoin infrastructure. Regulated in Singapore, the US, and Europe, Triple-A delivers compliant, real-time cross-border payments without requiring merchants to hold or manage cryptocurrencies directly.