HIVEX converts Binance Pay users' USDT into yen before it reaches PayPay merchants
Binance Pay opened USDT spending at PayPay merchants across Japan to about 48 million eligible overseas users, with TBCASoft's HIVEX settling stores in yen. Shops see an ordinary PayPay sale, so volume depends on how many of those users actually travel to Japan.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- Shops already accepting PayPay need no technical changes or sign-up, and both customer-presented and merchant-presented QR codes work.
- Binance Pay runs KYC and sanctions screening on its users, while HIVEX and its local partners handle merchant-side obligations under Japanese law.
- PayPay lists nine other overseas payment services on HIVEX, mainly from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
- Cointelegraph reported the service opening on a Wednesday; Crypto Briefing dated the announcement to early August with a third-quarter rollout.
Why it matters
- Who's exposed exposure Any price or liquidity risk in turning USDT into yen falls on HIVEX's side of the chain, since it performs the conversion, while the shop ends up holding only yen.
- What it sets up precedent Binance says it is the first crypto payment service on HIVEX, and its route, with no merchant sign-ups required, is now a tested template for other exchange wallets seeking PayPay's merchants.
- What doesn't add up contradiction Crypto Briefing says any merchant already on PayPay is in, while Cointelegraph says the vast majority, so some PayPay locations may not take USDT and neither source identifies them.
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HIVEX converts the USDT into yen before the payment reaches the register [3], so the stablecoin stays on the customer's side of the transaction. Binance is renting a rail HIVEX has run for foreign QR wallets since 2023 [5], on top of the fiat deposit and withdrawal channels Binance has operated in Japan since 2025 [15]. Binance is not spending money on a Japanese merchant business. It signs no shops and installs nothing, yet the connection reaches PayPay's millions of locations, including vending machines, taxis and public transport [7].
The 48 million eligible users [1] outnumber the 42.7 million international visitors Japan received in its record 2025 [16] by about 5 million [21]. The market that matters is smaller than either figure: Binance Pay users who actually land in Japan and pay at a till. Neither report estimates that overlap or discloses the fee and conversion spread on a payment. The visitor count is also falling. Arrivals for the first eight months of 2026 were 27.6 million, down 2.7% [17], roughly 0.8 million fewer than the same months of 2025 [20]. August alone fell 9.6% [17].
The launch can go a few ways. If eligibility stays put, Binance Pay is simply the tenth overseas service on HIVEX [18], and its USDT volume rises and falls with tourist traffic. Widening eligibility would grow the pool toward Binance's more than 300 million accounts [14]. Today's eligible base is at most about 16% of them [19], and the merchant side would need no further work. A lasting decline in arrivals like August's would shrink the pool from the other end, whatever Binance decides about eligibility.
I think the value to Binance is distribution it did not have to build merchant by merchant (the counterpart, a customer opening a crypto wallet at a Tokyo till, still has to happen one tourist at a time), and its worth depends on payment volume. That view is wrong if USDT volume, once disclosed, stays small next to the other foreign wallets on the same rail [18].
What to watch
- Any figure from Binance or HIVEX on USDT payment volume at PayPay merchants, or on the fee and conversion spread per payment.
- A widening of eligibility beyond the 48 million users now covered, toward Binance's more than 300 million accounts.
- Japan National Tourism Organization arrivals for September, after August fell 9.6% from a year earlier.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
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Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Roughly 48 million Binance Pay users, the currently eligible user base, can pay with USDT at PayPay merchants in Japan through a partnership with TBCASoft's HIVEX network.
- [2]
Merchants continue receiving settlement in yen.
- [3]
When a user scans a QR code at a participating merchant, HIVEX processes the conversion from digital assets to yen before the payment reaches the store's register.
- [4]
The system supports both customer-presented and merchant-presented QR code formats; individual merchants do not need to make technical changes or sign up for anything new.
- [5]
HIVEX has facilitated foreign QR wallet payments at PayPay merchants since its launch in 2023.
- [6]
PayPay lists nine other overseas payment services supported through HIVEX, mainly from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
- [7]
PayPay is accepted at millions of locations nationwide, including major chains, smaller retailers, vending machines, taxis and public transportation.
- [8]
Binance Pay will allow eligible overseas users visiting Japan to spend USDT at PayPay-supported merchants starting Wednesday.
- [9]
The integration was announced in early August 2026, with the initial rollout targeting Q3 2026.
- [10]
If merchants already accept PayPay, they're in.
- [11]
The service covers the vast majority of PayPay-supported merchants in Japan.
- [12]
Binance told Cointelegraph it is the first crypto payment service to access PayPay-supported merchants through HIVEX.
- [13]
Binance Pay handles user-side obligations such as KYC verification and sanctions screening; HIVEX and its local partners manage merchant-side regulatory requirements under Japanese law.
- [14]
Binance's broader global user base exceeds 300 million accounts.
- [15]
Binance fiat deposit and withdrawal services through Japanese payment channels have been available since 2025.
- [16]
Japan welcomed a record 42.7 million international visitors in 2025, according to the Japan Tourism Agency.
- [17]
Japan recorded 3.1 million visitor arrivals in August, down 9.6% from a year earlier, bringing the total for the first eight months of 2026 to 27.6 million, down 2.7%, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.
- [18]
Binance Pay is the tenth overseas payment service connected to PayPay merchants through HIVEX.
- [19]
The 48 million eligible Binance Pay users are at most about 16% of Binance's more than 300 million accounts.
- [20]
Arrivals in the first eight months of 2025 were about 28.4 million, so 2026's 27.6 million is roughly 0.8 million lower.
- [21]
The 48 million eligible Binance Pay users exceed Japan's 42.7 million international visitors in 2025 by about 5.3 million.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- cointelegraph.comBinance Pay lets visitors spend USDT at PayPay merchants in Japan
1 article · September 29, 2026
- cryptobriefing.comBinance Pay enables USDT spending at PayPay merchants in Japan
1 article · September 29, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Cashless payments in Japan
- Cross-border QR payments
- Inbound tourism to Japan
- Stablecoin Payments
Entities
- Japan National Tourism Organization
- Japan Tourism Agency
- Binance
- Tether USDt