Stablecoins for merchants: what converting to euros costs

A stablecoin is a digital token pegged to a currency: one USDC tracks the dollar, one EURC tracks the euro. With FiatFlex, converting them into euros and sending the money to your bank account costs 1% in EURC and 1.5% in USDC, with the SEPA transfer included.

The rest of this article makes that price concrete: what it covers, why the coin matters, and how it compares with a card payment.

What a stablecoin is, plainly

An ordinary cryptocurrency changes value hour by hour. A stablecoin is built not to: the issuer holds reserves and commits to one token being worth one unit of the reference currency.

A customer who sends you 100 EURC sends you the equivalent of 100 euros, and 100 USDC is the equivalent of 100 dollars. You have not opened a position on a market: you have received an amount denominated in a currency you already understand.

The rest, the blockchain and the addresses, is plumbing you never touch.

Why USDC and EURC, and why on Solana

FiatFlex accepts two stablecoins, USDC and EURC, both issued by Circle, on a single network, Solana.

Two tokens and one network is a choice. Adding networks mostly adds ways to send money to an address that will never receive it. One address, two tokens: your customer makes fewer mistakes, and so do you.

What getting euros costs

There is no subscription, no sign-up fee and no terminal to buy.

What you pay for is getting euros: the conversion and the SEPA transfer to your bank account, as one price and one operation, with no euro balance kept in between. In EURC, 1% of the amount converted. In USDC, 1.5%.

That price is a pure percentage, with no fixed part: the SEPA transfer is included, so a small conversion costs the same share as a large one. The amount you will receive is shown to you before you confirm the conversion: exact in EURC, which converts 1 for 1; an estimate in USDC, whose final amount depends on the exchange rate at conversion, while the price stays 1.5%. A conversion is possible from 5.06 EURC or 5.06 USDC.

Stablecoin or card: compare totals

A card payment costs 1.9% + €0.20 per payment with Tap to Pay, and 2% + €0.25 per payment on a payment link, with a card issued in the EEA. With a card issued outside the EEA, it costs 3.4% + €0.20 with Tap to Pay and up to 3.65% + €0.25 on a payment link. The full list, business cards included, is on the pricing page.

A stablecoin conversion has a lower percentage than either card price, and no fixed part. It is the card's fixed part per payment that makes a small ticket cost proportionally more; the stablecoin rail has none, so it costs less than a card on a small ticket as on a large one, in EURC as in USDC.

How often you convert changes nothing either: the percentage is the same whether you convert one payment or ten together, so you can convert whenever it suits you. The full schedule, cards included, is in our pricing.

USDC or EURC: why the price differs

USDC costs more than EURC because the amount has to move from dollars to euros. EURC is already in euros.

If you invoice in euros and your customers can pay in EURC, ask for EURC. If your customers think in dollars, accept USDC knowing what it costs.

Who is regulated, and where the money sits

This part has to be precise, because it is where marketing language usually slips.

FiatFlex is not a bank, not a payment institution and not an electronic money institution. The regulated partners are Stripe, for card payments, and Bridge, for stablecoins and the SEPA transfer.

The Solana wallet we open for your account is custody: FiatFlex holds those funds until you ask for a conversion or a withdrawal. It is custody in the plain sense, not self-custody, and we will never write it up as anything else. The full path the money takes is described in cards and stablecoins, two ways to get paid.

A stablecoin payment does not run over the card networks, so there is no dispute procedure. The trade-off is real: a transfer sent to the wrong address does not come back.

What we do not write

We publish no timings, for any step: not for a payment arriving, not for the conversion, not for the SEPA transfer. Our partners, Stripe and Bridge, have confirmed none to us, so we advertise none.

The schedule is public and applies as it stands, with no quote to request.

What is described here, stablecoins and cards alike, is open to merchants established in the euro area with a euro bank account, and Tap to Pay on iPhone is available in France.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to hold cryptocurrency to accept stablecoins?

No. You can convert as often as you like, once the minimum conversion amount is reached, so a balance need not last long; until you convert, the stablecoins sit in the custody wallet FiatFlex holds for you.

USDC or EURC?

EURC if you invoice in euros: 1%, against 1.5% in USDC. USDC if your customers think in dollars. The detail is in USDC or EURC, which to choose.

Is a stablecoin cheaper than a card?

Yes, on a small ticket as on a large one: converting costs 1% in EURC or 1.5% in USDC, with no fixed part, against 1.9% + €0.20 per Tap to Pay payment with a card issued in the EEA, and 3.4% + €0.20 with a card issued outside the EEA. The card keeps one advantage: every customer has one.

Is FiatFlex a bank?

No. The regulated partners are Stripe and Bridge, and the wallet we operate is custody.

Where can I see the schedule and try the app?

On the pricing section, and by downloading the app.