Digital Garage and JCB-Lawson Partnership Tests Stablecoin Payments in Japan

Digital Garage's shares extended gains in the afternoon session on August 19 after the company announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with JCB and Lawson to conduct a proof-of-concept for stablecoin-based in-store payments at Lawson locations.

The pilot, set to take place on August 20 at the Lawson Gate City Osaki Atrium store in Tokyo's Osaki district, will test the use of USDC, a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Circle, for payments made by foreign visitors to Japan.

Digital Garage has been expanding its presence in the crypto space with the commercial launch of its stablecoin payment infrastructure DG Stablecoin Payment Service (DG SPS) on August 10, which enables merchants to accept stablecoin payments via API. The company's partnership with JCB and Lawson is seen as a significant step towards commercializing stablecoin payments in Japan.