Lawson tests in-store stablecoin payments again, adding USDT while Japan’s rules remain unresolved
Lawson and NetStars ran a second-stage stablecoin payment trial at a Lawson convenience store on Aug. 17, expanding an earlier proof of concept that had used only JPYC on Polygon. This round tested three stablecoins — USDC, USDT and JPYC — across Solana, Morph and Polygon, with MetaMask used on the customer side and NetStars’ Stablecoin Pay linked to Lawson’s existing POS system. According to the companies, the trial was designed to check whether stablecoin payments could be processed in a physical retail setting without disrupting normal store operations. NetStars said the payments confirmed during interviews were generally completed within five seconds, a key metric for busy convenience store checkout flows. Store settlement was still handled in Japanese yen, meaning customers paid in stablecoins while Lawson received yen, similar to conventional barcode payment rails. The most sensitive point is USDT. The report notes that USDT is not included in the latest list of assets that registered electronic payment instrument service providers in Japan may handle. NetStars COO Hisahiro Chofuku said the model relies on users paying from self-custodied wallets and that the company does not hold customer assets as a financial institution. Even so, NetStars is still consulting Japan’s Financial Services Agency on how USDT payments should be treated legally and how received USDT or USDC would be converted safely into yen. Lawson said commercialization timing has not been decided.
