DePay is a wallet-native settlement mechanism designed to let everyday purchases be authorized directly from a self-custody crypto wallet while still settling to merchants in the local currency they expect. In this model, the user’s wallet is treated as the primary account, and payment authorization occurs through a standard wallet signing flow rather than by first moving funds into a custodial balance.
A typical DePay-style flow begins at checkout (in-store tap-to-pay or online card acceptance) with the user selecting a crypto asset such as a stablecoin. The user then approves a single signing request in their wallet, which authorizes an on-chain settlement transaction. That on-chain settlement is used to fund the fiat-side merchant payout, allowing the merchant to receive local currency through existing card acceptance infrastructure without needing to handle crypto directly.
Wallet-native settlement generally involves a conversion step from the user’s chosen crypto asset into the currency and format required by merchant acquiring and card networks. In practice, this conversion can be integrated into the settlement path so the user sees a final payable amount while the merchant receives a normal card-present or card-not-present payout. Systems built around DePay commonly emphasize transparent transaction previews (rate, fees, and merchant payout) and may incorporate gas abstraction so that network fees are minimized or covered within the settlement process rather than paid explicitly by the user.
Although the authorization originates from a crypto wallet, the merchant side typically remains unchanged: merchants continue using standard card terminals and acquirers, and settlement arrives as local currency via card rails. Implementations therefore sit at the intersection of on-chain execution and regulated payment issuance/processing, where identity verification, transaction monitoring, and jurisdiction-specific requirements are often applied to enable broad merchant acceptance.
One example of a consumer payments product that includes DePay as its settlement layer is Oobit, which uses wallet-native signing to initiate on-chain settlement while merchants receive local currency through Visa acceptance flows.
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