Binance Pay is launching a new feature that allows eligible overseas visitors in Japan to spend Tether USDt (USDT) at a vast majority of PayPay-supported merchants, beginning Wednesday.
The service operates through HIVEX, a payment interoperability framework designed to connect international QR payment services with PayPay merchants across Japan. Under this arrangement, local merchants will continue to receive their final settlements in Japanese yen.
According to Binance, this integration makes it the first cryptocurrency payment service to gain access to PayPay-supported merchants via HIVEX. The company noted that merchants do not need to opt in separately to accept the payments.
PayPay is a prominent cashless payment provider in Japan, accepted at millions of locations nationwide, such as major retail chains, smaller shops, vending machines, taxis, and public transportation networks. HIVEX already supports nine other overseas payment services, primarily originating from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
The rollout arrives as Japan continues to navigate high volumes of international tourism. Data from the Japan Tourism Agency indicates that the country welcomed a record 42.7 million international visitors in 2025, ranking ninth globally and first in Asia in the latest comparable worldwide rankings based on 2024 data.
Meanwhile, the Japan National Tourism Organization reported 3.1 million visitor arrivals in August, marking a 9.6% decrease compared to the previous year. This brought the cumulative total for the first eight months of 2026 to 27.6 million visitors, representing a 2.7% decline from the same period earlier.
