Binance Pay lets overseas visitors spend USDT at PayPay merchants in Japan

What happened

Binance Pay has opened crypto payments to eligible overseas users at PayPay-supported merchants across Japan through the HIVEX payment network, with the service live from Sept. 30. Visitors can spend Tether USDt (USDT) at the vast majority of PayPay-supported merchants. Merchants continue receiving settlement in Japanese yen, so the crypto side of the transaction stays with Binance Pay and the connected payment infrastructure.

The rollout is limited to eligible overseas visitors, and Japanese residents are excluded. Binance said the service gives approximately 48 million eligible Binance Pay users from more than 100 countries and regions access to PayPay-supported merchants while visiting Japan. Users must come from a jurisdiction where Binance Pay is supported and complete the exchange's identity verification process.

Payments work by scanning a merchant's PayPay QR code through Binance Pay, or, where supported, by showing a payment code in the Binance app for the merchant to scan. The service covers purchases at restaurants, stores, accommodation and other businesses where the PayPay flow works. Merchants will not need to opt in separately, and stores do not need to integrate each overseas wallet connected to the network.

Why it matters

Binance told Cointelegraph it is the first crypto payment service to access PayPay-supported merchants through HIVEX. The framework connects overseas QR payment services to PayPay-supported merchants in Japan, and PayPay lists nine other overseas payment services supported through HIVEX, mainly from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The link adds a crypto funding source to QR rails Japanese stores already use.

Travel demand frames the launch. Japan welcomed a record 42.7 million international visitors in 2025, according to the Japan Tourism Agency. Visitor arrivals were 3.1 million in August, down 9.6% from a year earlier, taking the first eight months of 2026 to 27.6 million, down 2.7%, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. PayPay is accepted at millions of locations, from major chains to small shops, vending machines, taxis and public transport.

Thomas Gregory, Binance's vice president of payments and fiat, described Japan as one of the leading destinations for connected cashless payments. He said the integration with PayPay reflected a shared aim of making payments more seamless, borderless and accessible for travellers visiting the country.

What the data shows

• Binance said the service gives approximately 48 million eligible Binance Pay users from more than 100 countries and regions access to PayPay-supported merchants while visiting Japan.
• Japan welcomed a record 42.7 million international visitors in 2025, according to the Japan Tourism Agency.
• Visitor arrivals reached 3.1 million in August, down 9.6% from a year earlier, and 27.6 million for the first eight months of 2026, down 2.7%, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.
• PayPay said its merchant network could receive payments from 36 overseas cashless services covering 17 countries and regions, which it estimated accounted for approximately 80% of international visitors to Japan.
• It lists nine other overseas payment services supported through HIVEX, mainly from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Background

• The service runs through HIVEX, a payment interoperability framework that connects overseas QR payment services to PayPay-supported merchants in Japan.
• Earlier in September, crypto.news reported that PayPay added UnionPay QR payments through HIVEX for visitors using the UnionPay App.
• Binance Pay adds a different payment source to that infrastructure because users can spend supported digital assets from their Binance accounts.

What is still unclear

• The reports do not name which digital assets other than USDT can be used, or in which markets, Binance Pay users can spend supported digital assets from their accounts.
• The reports give no fee or exchange-rate details for the service, and do not list the jurisdictions where Binance Pay is supported, users must come from a supported jurisdiction.

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