Cryptocurrency payments are rapidly growing in regions like Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, where traditional finance is inefficient.

In these emerging markets, including over ten countries and regions such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Nigeria, and Brazil, users can utilize the AEON Pay payment solution to make payments with cryptocurrency via QR codes or transfers at everyday consumption locations like KFC, Starbucks, Apple, Uniqlo, 7-Eleven, and Nike.

It is reported that AEON Pay is a mobile cryptocurrency payment solution under the AEON payment protocol, currently covering 20 million online and offline merchants and thousands of brands worldwide. It allows merchants to accept cryptocurrency payments without needing to replace hardware, using QR codes and other methods for instant settlement. In the future, the solution will also support NFC contactless payments.

Why is cryptocurrency payment able to rise rapidly in emerging markets? How does AEON Pay penetrate real consumption scenarios in these emerging markets?

Opportunities for Cryptocurrency Payments in Emerging Markets

Bitcoin was initially used for purchasing pizza. However, after more than a decade of development, cryptocurrency is still primarily used by users for investment, speculation, or cross-border transfers, with little penetration into everyday consumer payments.

The reason lies in the fact that while cryptocurrency payments have many advantages such as instant settlement and no regional restrictions, they also face some challenges.

On one hand, regulatory uncertainty or distrust of cryptocurrencies has led to limited acceptance of crypto payments in many regions. On the other hand, in areas with developed financial infrastructure and internet access, traditional online payments have already occupied users' minds, making crypto transactions unfamiliar to many outside the circle, lacking a more mature cryptocurrency payment solution to replace traditional banking and internet payment options.

However, the "payment dilemma" in emerging markets like Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America provides fertile ground for the implementation of cryptocurrency payments.

In emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and Africa, especially in rural areas of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, due to lagging economic development, insufficient infrastructure, and geographical constraints, traditional banking services have limited coverage, leaving many people without bank accounts. Additionally, there are many cross-border workers in these regions, where high costs and low efficiency of cross-border transfers are prominent issues.

In Latin America, regions like Argentina and Venezuela face economic instability and high inflation, which weaken the purchasing power of local currencies, necessitating tools to combat currency devaluation and financial instability.

Cryptocurrency payments require low financial infrastructure; a smartphone is sufficient to complete transactions, allowing access to populations that traditional finance struggles to reach, and they are not limited by geography, enabling low-cost instant settlement. The stablecoin's peg to the US dollar further makes it a "safe haven" for inflationary countries.

Therefore, in these regions with inefficient finance and severe inflation, cryptocurrency payments are not just an "alternative solution" but have almost become a necessity.

Moreover, these emerging markets have a high proportion of young populations who are more accepting of mobile internet and cryptocurrency technology, and the regulatory environment is relatively relaxed. The promotion costs of cryptocurrency payments in these areas are lower. AEON Pay's strategy of "surrounding the city from the countryside" to enter emerging markets is indeed a wise move.

How Does AEON Pay Achieve "Seamless" Cryptocurrency Payments?

Although the educational costs in these emerging markets are low, for groups already accustomed to mobile internet experiences, cryptocurrency payments also require a lower threshold and convenient experience.

AEON Pay has not chosen to develop an independent wallet or payment tool but has built a universal underlying payment network that allows cryptocurrency payments to seamlessly integrate into daily life.

On the merchant side, AEON Pay does not require merchants to replace terminal hardware; integration can be completed through existing local payment code systems or bank transfer systems. For example, in Vietnam, it supports the VietQR national QR code payment system, and in Nigeria, it connects to the NBISS bank transfer system, enabling AEON Pay to quickly expand to over 20 million merchants.

On the user side, users can initiate payments through AEON Pay's Telegram mini-program or use the AEON Pay dApp at commonly used cryptocurrency wallets and exchange entrances without needing to download an additional app.

Previously, AEON partnered with Bitget Wallet, launching the AEON Pay dApp on Bitget Wallet, providing native Web3 mobile payment functionality for Bitget Wallet's 60 million users, making it the first self-custodial wallet to natively support Vietnam's national QR payment system (VietQR).

Additionally, AEON Pay has recently partnered with Bybit and KuCoin, integrating its offline cryptocurrency mobile payment capabilities natively into exchanges, allowing tens of millions of users on Bybit and KuCoin to use cryptocurrency payments via Bybit Pay and KuCoin Pay, covering 20 million local merchants in Southeast Asia as well as global brand stores like McDonald's, Starbucks, and Uniqlo.

Furthermore, AEON Pay has also collaborated with the global cryptocurrency payment network Mesh to integrate its API. Users can directly use balances from exchanges like Coinbase and Binance or complete online and offline payments through personal wallets like MetaMask, Phantom, and Trust Wallet.

Currently, AEON Pay has established partnerships with major public chains such as BNB Chain, TON, Polygon, Avalanche, wallets like Bitget Wallet and TokenPocket, exchanges like Bybit and KuCoin, and stablecoin issuers like Tether, World Liberty Financial, and Ripple.

AEON is building an ecological synergy system of "public chain + wallet + exchange," achieving horizontal and vertical ecological integration through collaboration with mainstream platforms, allowing users to complete "seamless" payments without needing to trust "new brands" through existing channels.

The Next Stop for Cryptocurrency Payments: AI-Driven Fully Automated Smart Settlement

By entering emerging markets with "high inflation + low trust" such as Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and quickly implementing a "chain + wallet + exchange" ecological synergy, AEON is expected to be the first to build a network effect for cryptocurrency payments.

However, replacing traditional mobile payments is just the beginning. In the wave of AI, AEON is also laying out AI-driven payment solutions, aiming to create a fully automated smart settlement experience that allows users to enjoy a more convenient and low-cost cross-border settlement method.

In May of this year, AEON launched the AI Payment protocol to promote the implementation of AI autonomous payments in real commercial scenarios. Currently, AEON has partnered with PIN AI, SendAI, and others. For example, after integrating the AI Payment protocol into the PIN AI ecosystem, its AI Agent can independently complete payments using cryptocurrency when accessing owner data and performing daily tasks such as hailing a ride or booking tickets for the first time.

AEON stated that it expects to enable automatic payments for AI Agents in 80% of online and offline payment scenarios globally by 2026 and plans to become the industry standard for AI Agent payments and verification.

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