Japanese Convenience Giant Trials Stablecoin Payments Starting August

Japanese convenience store chain Lawson will test payments in a yen-pegged stablecoin at a Tokyo location, marking a key move to bring digital assets to everyday retail checkout.

The trial signals that stablecoins in Japan are edging past finance and remittance into daily consumer spending, where scale could reshape the market.

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Japan’s Lawson Brings Stablecoins to the Checkout

Lawson will begin the proof-of-concept trial in early August at its Takanawa Gateway City store in Minato Ward, Tokyo, according to Nikkei. The chain will use JPYC (JPYC), the fully regulated yen-based stablecoin issued by Tokyo fintech JPYC Inc.

According to media reports, Lawson is working with digital wallet firm HashPort on the setup. Shoppers display a wallet barcode on their smartphone, and a staff member scans it with the point-of-sale (POS) terminal. HashPort then updates the customer’s stablecoin balance from the payment data.

Lawson says this is Japan’s first stablecoin payment trial tied directly to a POS system. That link lets the chain fold purchase data, such as item counts and payment times, into its existing store management tools. Lawson plans to check integration stability and transaction speed before deciding on wider rollout.

JPYC launched last year, and its reach has widened since. The token now has a market value of roughly $27 million across roughly 64,400 holders, according to Token Terminal data.

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