WalletConnect launches POS stablecoin payment service

According to Mars Finance, on January 19th, WalletConnect CEO Jess Houlgrave announced a partnership with Ingenico to launch stablecoin payment functionality on POS terminals. The initial launch will make WalletConnect Pay available to acquiring institutions and payment service providers on Ingenico terminals starting in January 2026. The first batch of merchants is expected to launch the service in Europe in the first and second quarters of 2026, with further expansion planned as PSP gradually integrates the service into its merchant ecosystem. This bypasses traditional banks and credit card networks through "on-chain direct payment." The service integrates with existing POS systems as an add-on "tag/application": after scanning a code, users can select a chain (such as SOL or ETH) in wallets like MetaMask and complete the signature, thus achieving on-chain payment. This is seen by some as a significant breakthrough for on-chain assets in offline consumption scenarios, but the actual process still relies heavily on users actively informing cashiers and completing multiple manual steps.