WalletConnect Pay, a payment infrastructure built for cryptocurrency and stablecoin transactions, is now available to South African merchants through Ezeebit, a crypto payment service provider serving businesses across Africa. The integration lets companies accept digital currency payments at physical stores and online checkouts, with the option to receive settlements in stablecoins or traditional fiat currency.

The initial rollout covers The Capital, a hotel and apartment operator with 13 locations across South Africa. Guests can pay using more than 700 compatible cryptocurrency wallets and receive instant settlement in either stablecoins or fiat.

The service supports stablecoins including USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT), both designed to maintain a peg to the US dollar—a property that allows merchants to price goods in a stable unit of value while still accepting blockchain-based payment. The launch also introduces a 2% cashback program under which eligible customers earn rewards in WCT, the WalletConnect token, based on the value of their purchases.

Ezeebit plans to extend the integration to additional businesses across Africa, moving crypto payment acceptance beyond the initial hospitality deployment.

Sub-Saharan Africa Posts Strong Onchain Growth

The launch arrives as cryptocurrency activity accelerates across Sub-Saharan Africa. According to Chainalysis data cited by WalletConnect, the region received more than $205 billion in onchain value between July 2024 and June 2025, a 52% increase from the prior year. That growth placed Sub-Saharan Africa among the world's three fastest-growing regions for onchain activity, behind Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

WalletConnect views the Ezeebit partnership as a foundation for expanding digital currency payments across regional markets. Broader adoption, however, depends on making cryptocurrency transactions practical for everyday purchases, particularly in retail, hospitality, and e-commerce.

WalletConnect Pay Tackles Checkout Friction

Conventional cryptocurrency payments can create operational problems for merchants and customers alike. Payment amounts may need to be entered manually, raising the risk of incorrect transfers and forcing businesses to reconcile underpayments or overpayments—and because blockchain transfers generally cannot be reversed once confirmed, such errors are difficult to unwind. WalletConnect Pay embeds the exact purchase amount into the transaction process, allowing customers to confirm the correct figure before authorizing payment—an approach intended to reduce errors and simplify checkout.

Network fees have also limited cryptocurrency payments at the point of sale, as unpredictable blockchain gas costs can confuse customers and complicate transactions. WalletConnect Pay is designed to remove gas fees from the customer's payment experience, making the process more comparable to conventional card payments.

Through a single integration with Ezeebit, merchants can accept payments from multiple WalletConnect-compatible wallets—including Trust Wallet, MetaMask, Binance, and Fireblocks—without building separate connections for each provider. According to WalletConnect, its compatible wallet network reaches more than 900 million users and processed over $400 billion in transaction volume during the preceding year. The protocol also standardizes checkout procedures across supported wallets, giving customers a consistent payment experience regardless of the provider they choose.

Fiat Settlement Gives Merchants Flexibility

A notable feature of the integration is the option for businesses to accept stablecoin payments while receiving settlements in fiat currency. This allows merchants to accommodate customers who prefer digital assets without necessarily holding cryptocurrency on their balance sheets—settling in conventional currency means a business is not exposed to movements in the digital asset's market price once the sale is complete. Customers can select their preferred supported stablecoin, while businesses choose the settlement method that fits their financial and operational requirements—an arrangement that could reduce some of the complexity associated with directly managing digital assets.

WalletConnect Chief Executive Officer Jess Houlgrave said South Africa has developed a dynamic digital payments ecosystem and that the integration would provide the infrastructure to bring cryptocurrency into everyday commerce.

Ezeebit Chief Executive Officer Daniel Katz said African businesses increasingly need payment options that reflect changing customer preferences, including the use of cryptocurrency. He indicated the partnership would give merchants access to a large digital asset user base without adding significant operational complexity.

Expansion Could Deepen Crypto's Role in Commerce

The partnership reflects a broader effort to connect cryptocurrency wallets with established merchant payment systems. Rather than requiring businesses to build own blockchain payment infrastructure, the integration provides a route to accept digital currencies through an existing provider.

The planned expansion beyond The Capital will test whether the model can gain traction across additional industries and African markets. Its longer-term prospects will depend on merchant adoption, customer demand, settlement reliability, and the regulatory requirements governing cryptocurrency payments in individual countries.