Stablecoin micropayments: when $1 is still $1

When we previously shared the costs to send $1M in stablecoins onchain, some pointed out that the real impact is even better demonstrated with smaller amounts. Traditional payments have been trying to solve the $1 -> $1 micropayment problem for years without industry-level success. Stablecoins are changing that.

Costs to send $1 in stablecoins with Brale Business accounts:

Stablecoin transactions have become so inexpensive on many chains that supporting near-instant micropayments is now possible.

Stablecoin microtransactions

Traditional fintech has faced high costs for micropayments, making it challenging for merchants to accept low-dollar payments, support small remittances, and enable new payment models.

Consider the cost for a merchant accepting a $1 purchase or donation:

In international payments, stablecoins help solve the cost and friction of converting to local currencies. Processing a $5 micro-payment from the US to Kenya may cost up to 111% with traditional payments, with end-to-end fees as low as 2% for stablecoins. Using apps like Valora on Celo, stablecoins are supporting micro-task economies emerging markets.

Stablecoins also unlock microtransactions models for selling digital goods, content subscriptions, or pay-per-use services where micropayments can be used as an alternative to advertising models.

What about on and offramp fees?

When comparing stablecoins to traditional payments, it's often pointed out that users still need to deposit and withdraw funds into stablecoins. Brale Business accounts enable businesses to run operations without the onramp and offramp costs usually associated with stablecoins.

With stablecoins, it's now possible to support on-chain operations essentially for free.