OKX SG Brings USDT and USDC Scan-to-Pay to Singapore’s Everyday Shopping

OKX SG, the Singapore-based unit of OKX, said it is bringing the crypto exchange’s integrated payments service, OXK Pay, to the city-state through a stablecoin-powered scan-to-pay service tie-up with Southeast Asia’s “everyday everything” app, Grab.

OKX SG, which received a major payment institution license from the country’s central bank just over a year ago, will work with crypto infrastructure provider StraitsX to allow customers to pay for everyday expenses using the two largest U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins, USDT, issued by Tether, and USDC, issued by Circle Internet (CRCL).

The launch of OKX Pay is a sign of the increasing adoption of stablecoins in commercial networks across Asia and beyond. StraitsX’s XSGD stablecoin is already integrated with Alipay+ and Grab, which enables wallets like GCash, KakaoPay and Touch ’n Go e-wallets. In some emerging markets, stablecoins are already widely used for remittances and day-to-day commerce, often preferred for their lower transaction fees and faster settlement times than conventional money transfers through traditional banking channels.

“OKX Pay addresses real needs for customers by expanding DPTs’ use beyond trading and investing to everyday payments — from a morning coffee to dining out with friends,” Gracie Lin, CEO at OKX SG, said in a press release shared with CoinDesk.

The system allows users to scan GrabPay SGQR codes at participating merchants and converts their USDT or USDC into XSGD, StraitsX’s Singapore dollar-pegged stablecoin. The XSGD is then converted in the fiat currency and passed to merchant.

Stablecoins are tokens whose values are pegged to an external reference, typically a fiat currency. This pegging mechanism minimizes the price volatility typically seen in other cryptocurrencies, providing users with a digital asset that functions similarly to traditional money while offering the benefits of blockchain technology such as faster cross-border transactions and payment modes.

According to JPMorgan, stablecoin transaction volumes have zoomed to over $800 billion a month from less than $100 billion in five years. The overall use of stablecoins in real world transaction is slowly picking up.

According to a BCG white paper on stablecoins released in May 2025, stablecoins’ payments-related uses such as cross-border remittances, merchant transactions and on-chain settlements now make up approximately 4%–6% of total activity. Meanwhile, trading related activities make up for 88% of the total.

The OKX Pay’s three-step conversion ensures that merchants benefit from a simple, compliant way to accept stablecoin payments without having to handle digital payment tokens (DPTs) themselves.

Every OKX Pay transaction is executed as a blockchain transfer using the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s purpose bound money (PBM) framework, which applies programmable logic to ensure compliant and conditional settlement.

“The future of payments will be defined by trust, speed, and interoperability – and stablecoins are at the heart of this shift,” Tianwei Liu, StraitsX CEO & co-founder, said in the statement. “The launch of OKX Pay is more than a new service but a blueprint for how stablecoins will underpin global commerce in the years ahead.”