Japan's convenience store brand Lawson will introduce payments using yen-pegged stablecoin JPYC at stores from August.

A pilot will verify in-store stablecoin payments linked to point-of-sale systems, marking the first such case in Japan, local media reported, citing the Nikkei.

The trial is set for early August at the Lawson Takanawa Gateway City store operated by Japanese telecoms company KDDI. It will be carried out with digital asset wallet company HashPort. Consumers will pay by using a barcode displayed on a smartphone wallet screen. When staff scan the barcode with a POS terminal, HashPort updates the JPYC balance based on the payment information.

Lawson plans to check POS system integration and the time required for actual payments in the trial. The focus is on confirming whether stablecoin payments work within existing in-store checkout systems.

The background to the trial also includes the capital relationship between KDDI and HashPort. KDDI formed a capital and business tie-up with HashPort in October 2025 and secured more than 20 percent of its issued shares through a third-party allotment of new shares. HashPort then became an equity-method affiliate of KDDI. Conducting the trial with HashPort at a store operated by KDDI is also an extension of this cooperation structure.

This is not the first JPYC payment trial. In April, a preliminary test was held at two Osaka stores of okonomiyaki restaurant chain Jibou, and dental hospitals in Tokyo and Chiba are also scheduled to introduce it in July. Still, Lawson's case is the first to verify payments by directly linking to a convenience store checkout POS, making it a test of whether payment infrastructure can be expanded.

In Japan, discussions on issuing stablecoins and using them for payments are also accelerating. The three mega banks Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui and Mizuho are reported to be planning to set up a consortium with a goal of jointly issuing stablecoins during fiscal 2026. They also plan to use a framework filed with the Financial Services Agency in February 2026 with Nomura Securities and Daiwa Securities.

Issuance of trust-type stablecoins has already begun. JPYSC, jointly developed by SBI Holdings and Singapore's Straits Group, was issued on June 24. SBI Shinsei Trust Bank serves as the issuer, and SBI VC Trade handles distribution, with early provision limited to within VC Trade accounts. Resona Holdings is also pushing to commercialise stablecoin payments for individuals with JCB and Digital Garage, and is conducting trials at some JCB member stores with fiscal 2027 in view for practical use.

Market size forecasts are also growing. Citigroup estimated that the global stablecoin market could expand from $282 billion in 2025 to $1.9 trillion to $4 trillion in 2030. Against this backdrop, Lawson's trial is expected to be a case that checks whether stablecoin payments can be integrated into actual checkout systems in Japan's retail settings.