Binance Pay to let eligible overseas visitors spend USDT at PayPay merchants in Japan starting Wednesday

Binance Pay is plugging Tether USDt (USDT) into PayPay’s merchant network in Japan, giving eligible overseas users a way to pay at the vast majority of PayPay-supported merchants while settlement still lands in yen. For high-risk payment operators, the important part is the plumbing: crypto payment flow on the front end, local fiat settlement on the back end, and no separate merchant opt-in.

1. Starting Wednesday, eligible overseas users visiting Japan will be able to spend USDT at the vast majority of PayPay-supported merchants through Binance Pay.
2. The service runs through HIVEX, a payment interoperability framework that connects overseas QR payment services to PayPay-supported merchants in Japan. Binance told Cointelegraph it is the first crypto payment service to access PayPay-supported merchants through HIVEX.
3. Merchants will continue receiving settlement in yen. Binance also said merchants will not need to opt in separately, which matters because this kind of distribution model reduces friction on the acceptance side.
4. PayPay is accepted at millions of locations nationwide, including major chains, smaller retailers, vending machines, taxis and public transportation. It lists nine other overseas payment services supported through HIVEX, mainly from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
5. Japan welcomed a record 42.7 million international visitors in 2025, according to the Japan Tourism Agency. In the latest comparable global ranking, based on 2024 data, it ranked ninth worldwide and first in Asia. The Japan National Tourism Organization said the country recorded 3.1 million visitor arrivals in August, down 9.6% from a year earlier, bringing the total for the first eight months of 2026 to 27.6 million, down 2.7%.