A single settlement usually involves more than one service
From the customer's payment to the merchant's receipt of US dollars, at a minimum the following questions must be answered: who receives the stablecoin, who holds the assets, who executes the exchange, and who pays the fiat currency. If the platform promises settlement at a fixed exchange rate, it should also specify the point in time at which the rate is locked and who bears the risk of network congestion or upstream refusal to pay. The crypto asset services listed in the EU's MiCA include exchange, custody and transfer on behalf of clients; the specific licence cannot be selected based merely on the word "collection", and the fiat payment stage should also be separately checked against payment regulation. It should also be confirmed whether the merchant statement shows the coins pending exchange, the fiat currency pending payment, or the amount already received, so as to avoid treating upstream operations that have not yet been completed as funds already at the merchant's disposal.
Domestic merchants cannot bypass restrictions through offshore entities
Yinfa [2026] No. 42 of 2026 continues to prohibit the conduct of fiat currency and virtual currency exchange and other related business within the territory, and restricts offshore entities and individuals from unlawfully providing related services to domestic entities. This notice has already replaced the 2021 notice. Therefore, packaging RMB or domestic trade receivables as offshore stablecoin payments, or arranging for an offshore company to sign the contract, does not by itself prove legality; the customer's actual business operations, the provision of services and the use of funds still need to be reviewed.
Assume the merchant is in an offshore market that permits receipt of coins
An offshore hotel that wishes to accept stablecoin payments from guests while receiving local fiat currency can compare two structures: a qualified institution contracting directly with the hotel and responsible for exchange and settlement, or the platform acting as the hotel's settlement obligor and then engaging upstream providers. The latter structure causes the platform to bear more performance risk and makes it more necessary to verify its own qualifications. Even if the former structure is adopted, it should still be confirmed that the currency, network, merchant industry and settlement destination are all within the scope acceptable to the cooperating institution.
Lawful collection of payments must also be able to handle refunds and anomalies
The assessment of a solution should not merely demonstrate a successful payment. It is advisable to also design processes for underpayment, overpayment, wrong chain, sanctions screening hits, stablecoin freezing and consumer refunds. For example, whether a refund upon return of goods is made in the original coin quantity or the original fiat amount should be specified before the transaction; this is a matter of contract and risk allocation, not simply "reversing" the original on-chain transaction. Only when the entity, qualifications, transaction purpose and anomaly handling can all be closed off is it suitable to proceed to testing with real merchants.
Recommended actions
- Place the merchant's place of business, the place where the service contract is signed, the asset flow and the location of the settlement account on the same chart.
- Verify the qualifications of each entity involved in receiving coins, exchange, custody and fiat settlement, as well as the scope of currency support.
- Conduct tabletop exercises using three scenarios—refunds, freezing and upstream refusal to pay—and revise the merchant terms.
Information note: This article provides general information only and does not replace legal advice based on specific facts.
References
- MiCA Article 3 — Definitions — ESMA
- Notice on Further Preventing and Addressing Risks Associated with Virtual Currency and Related Matters — People's Bank of China and seven other departments
- EBA No Action letter on PSD2 and MiCA — EBA
- MiCA Article 70 — Safekeeping and related payment services — ESMA
