The way we pay has changed many times over the last century, from cash, to cards, to mobile taps. But one promise has remained just out of reach for over a decade: using crypto and stablecoins as easily as everyday money.
The Payments Pulse is WalletConnect’s monthly interview series exploring the future of payments. Each episode features in-depth conversations with founders, operators, and leaders across payments, fintech, and crypto, focused on one question: how do we make crypto payments work in the real world?
This series is designed for builders, product leaders, payment service providers, merchants, users and anyone interested in how money is evolving onchain.
In the first episode of Payments Pulse, WalletConnect CEO Jess Houlgrave sits down to explain why that moment is finally arriving, what’s been holding crypto payments back, and why WalletConnect Pay exists to solve it.
From TradFi to Crypto Payments
Jess’s journey into payments began long before WalletConnect.
Starting her career in traditional finance, with an academic background in monetary systems, before discovering Bitcoin more than a decade ago. That combination sparked a long-standing interest and passion for how money evolves and how new systems can challenge existing ones.
After building early crypto infrastructure and later working at Checkout.com, one of the world’s leading global payment processors, Jess gained first-hand experience in how payments actually work at scale. She saw the complexity behind card networks, merchant settlement, compliance, and user experience.
That experience shaped a core belief she brings to WalletConnect today: payments don’t succeed because of technology alone; they succeed because they are simple, fast, and trusted.
The Hard Truth About Payment Adoption
One of the strongest themes in the conversation is realism.
Even great payment technologies take years to be adopted. Faster payments in the US have existed for over a decade, yet checks are still widely used. Changing behavior is slow.
That lesson matters for crypto.
Crypto payments won’t replace cards overnight, and they don’t need to. What matters is building something that is genuinely better in specific ways: global reach, lower costs, faster settlement, and user control.
But none of that works if the experience is clunky.
If paying with crypto takes 20 steps while tapping a phone takes one, users won’t switch. The bar set by Web 2 payments is extremely high.
Why WalletConnect Pay Needs to Exist
WalletConnect originally emerged to solve a different problem: connecting wallets and apps in an open, secure, and interoperable way.
Before WalletConnect, apps had to integrate with wallets one by one, and users were often locked into closed ecosystems. WalletConnect changed that by creating a shared standard that works across wallets, apps, devices, and chains.
That same principle now applies to payments.
Closed-loop crypto payment systems don’t scale. A merchant can’t realistically say “we only accept one wallet” any more than they could say “we only accept customers who bank with one institution.”
Money needs to be neutral.
WalletConnect Pay extends the open-network model into payments, ensuring that users can pay with the wallet they already use, while merchants receive a consistent, reliable checkout experience.
How WalletConnect Pay Works, Without the Jargon
At a high level, WalletConnect Pay connects two separate worlds: the point of sale or checkout page, and the user’s wallet.
The flow is intentionally simple:
- A merchant enters an amount at checkout.
- A QR code or payment link is generated.
- The user scans it with their wallet.
- The wallet displays the amount, supported assets, and supported chains.
- The user confirms and pays.
Behind the scenes, WalletConnect Pay handles the complexity:
- Communicating payment details securely to any supported wallet
- Supporting different assets, including stablecoins
- Screening for sanctions and compliance requirements
- Working with licensed partners to convert crypto to fiat if needed
- Settling funds to merchants just like traditional payment methods
For merchants and payment providers, this means they don’t need to become crypto experts. They can offer crypto payments as simply another checkout option and receive fiat or stablecoins on the backend.
Why Stablecoins Are Driving the Conversation
One thing Jess highlights clearly is the shift in sentiment around stablecoins.
At major fintech conferences like Money20/20, stablecoins have gone from a fringe topic to mainstream conversation. Banks, neobanks, wallets, and payment providers are all paying attention.
Stablecoins unlock something powerful: digital dollars that move globally, instantly, and cheaply.
But there’s a catch.
The stablecoin landscape is fragmenting. Dozens of dollar-pegged tokens now exist, often across multiple chains. For users, that creates confusion. For payments, it creates friction.
WalletConnect Pay is built to abstract that complexity away, so users don’t need to think about which stablecoin lives on which chain. The goal is simple usability, not token trivia.
What Merchants Actually Gain
For merchants and payment service providers, the benefits go beyond “accepting crypto.”
The headline advantages include:
- Lower fees compared to card networks
- Faster settlement, often same-day or near-instant
- Improved cash flow, with less capital tied up in delayed payouts
- Global reach, without worrying about local payment methods
- Access to new customers, including cross-border buyers
Jess also points to early data showing that crypto payments can have higher average transaction values, suggesting a new and valuable customer segment.
Why Crypto Cards Aren’t the Endgame
Crypto cards have played an important role in familiarizing consumers with the idea of spending crypto. But they don’t fundamentally change the payment system.
Most crypto cards simply convert crypto to fiat at the moment of purchase and route the transaction through traditional card rails. That means merchants still pay the same fees and wait the same settlement times.
They’re useful, but they’re not transformative.
True crypto payments cut out unnecessary intermediaries and unlock new capabilities like programmability, recurring payments, and real-time settlement.
A Global, Open Alternative to Card Networks
Card networks are incredibly successful and won’t disappear overnight. But they were built for a different era.
WalletConnect Pay aims to coexist with them in the near term while offering a truly global, open alternative over time. One that works across wallets, chains, and borders from day one.
The long-term vision is simple but ambitious: crypto payments that feel as effortless as tapping a card, while being more open, global, and efficient underneath.
The Bigger Picture
At its core, this conversation isn’t just about payments technology.
It’s about choice, control, and access.
For consumers, it means owning and using their money without unnecessary friction. For merchants, it means faster access to revenue and fewer intermediaries. For the global economy, it means a payment system that works everywhere, not just where card networks do.
As Jess puts it, self-custody and control over money isn’t just a feature, it’s a right.
WalletConnect Pay exists to make that right usable in everyday life.