Stablecoins are firmly embedded in global commerce. They’re used by businesses and consumers for their combination of stability and crypto efficiency. ANZ became the first Australian bank to mint stablecoins in Australia in 2022, and many Australian businesses now use stablecoins to move money across borders faster, pay contractors in minutes, and plug into new financial systems with fewer moving parts.

With any new payment system, the details matter. Below, we’ll explore how stablecoin payments work in Australia, where they’re showing up in real business operations across the country, and what it takes to use them.

What’s in this article?

• How do stablecoin payments work in Australia?
  
• What are the current business use cases for stablecoin payments in Australia?
  
• What regulatory guidance exists around stablecoins in Australia?
  
• What tax and compliance factors should Australian businesses consider when using stablecoins?
  
• How do onramps and offramps for stablecoins work in Australia?
  
• How Stripe can help
  

How do stablecoin payments work in Australia?

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are designed to hold a steady value. The value is often backed by reserves of a fiat currency such as the US dollar (USD) or the Australian dollar (AUD), and each token in circulation is matched by this reserve, which keeps its value fixed. For example, one USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin is designed to hold a value equal to one US dollar.

Stablecoin payment technology in Australia works by moving the payments on public blockchains such as Ethereum or Solana. The payments are transferable globally at any time and settle in minutes. The technology is designed to move money fast, across borders, with predictable value.

What are the current business use cases for stablecoin payments in Australia?

Australian businesses that work across borders, transfer money frequently, or operate online are adopting stablecoins. Here are some popular uses.

Cross-border B2B payments

Stablecoins give startups and small businesses a faster, cheaper alternative to Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) transfers. For example, an Australian software-as-a-service (SaaS) company can use stablecoins to pay a vendor in Singapore in minutes, on a weekend, without bank delays or surprise foreign exchange (FX) fees. It’s especially useful for USD payments: instead of converting to AUD each time, companies can send USDC directly.

Global contractor payments

Crypto-native companies and plenty of remote-friendly startups are using stablecoins to pay freelancers and contractors in other countries.

Ecommerce payments

Some Australian ecommerce businesses accept stablecoins at checkout. While this option isn’t yet mainstream, it’s growing in crypto-forward circles. Some payment providers can autoconvert payments into local currency, so customers can pay in USDC and businesses still get AUD.

Flexible treasury holdings

Businesses with global suppliers or USD exposure can use stablecoins to hold working capital balances without juggling foreign accounts. Others explore yield opportunities or use them as a hedge against currency volatility.

Tokenized asset settlements

Large institutions are experimenting with stablecoin-based settlements. A$DC from ANZ and AUDN from National Australia Bank (NAB) were both used in pilots to buy tokenized carbon credits, which means the entire trade happened onchain with instant value transfer. This could signal future infrastructure-level changes in how money moves.

What regulatory guidance exists around stablecoins in Australia?

Australia’s regulators are moving stablecoins into the financial mainstream. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Treasury, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) are all helping to ensure stablecoins that act like money are regulated like money.

Here’s what they’re doing.

ASIC

ASIC treats stablecoins as noncash payment facilities. This makes them financial products under the Corporations Act, which means that issuing stablecoins would require an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL). However, in December 2025, ASIC expanded regulatory exemptions for certain stablecoin distributors to foster digital asset growth.

Macropod (formerly Catena Digital) became the first licensed issuer of the AUD-backed stablecoin AUDM in 2025, and ASIC introduced an exemption allowing other platforms to support AUDM without their own AFSL. This exemption runs until 2028.

The Treasury

The government is rolling out a new licensing framework for digital payments. The current draft proposes regulating payment stablecoins as tokenized stored value. While the new framework imposes more stringent requirements and increases the compliance costs, local exchanges such as Independent Reserve and BTC Markets have supported its implementation.

The RBA

The RBA hasn’t designated any stablecoin as systemic, but it’s watching closely. It’s also involved in central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilots, and is coordinating with ASIC and the Treasury on policy design.

AUSTRAC

AUSTRAC expects businesses facilitating stablecoin exchange or transfer to register and implement full Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) controls. These include Know Your Customer (KYC) checks and suspicious activity monitoring.

What tax and compliance factors should Australian businesses consider when using stablecoins?

If you’re planning to incorporate stablecoins into your business, you’ll have specific tax reporting and compliance obligations. It’s important to meet both.

Here’s a look at the tax requirements:

• Capital gains tax (CGT): Holding stablecoins can lead to capital gains or losses.

• Goods and services tax (GST): GST applies to the goods or services being sold, not to the stablecoin itself. Businesses generally treat stablecoins like any other payment method, but it’s worth checking with your tax advisor.

Here are the main considerations for compliance:

• AML and CFT: If you operate as an exchange, a custodian, or an on- or offramp, you’ll need to register with AUSTRAC and follow full AML rules, which include KYC and transaction monitoring.

• Sanctions: As with any other payments, stablecoin payments must be screened. You’re responsible for making sure you’re not receiving funds from sanctioned addresses.

• Recordkeeping: The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) expects full documentation for every crypto transaction, including the AUD value, timestamp, counterparty, and purpose.

How do onramps and offramps for stablecoins work in Australia?

There are many options for moving between AUD and stablecoins. Businesses should pick the right flow for their volume, timing, and compliance needs.

Here are some common onramps:

• Over-the-counter (OTC) brokers provide white glove service and often offer better pricing and direct settlement for higher volumes.

• Some fintech platforms are layering in credit card or PayID purchases for faster access, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

And offramps:

• OTC desks can handle large cash-outs without moving markets.

• A few crypto cards let you spend stablecoins directly, with real-time conversion at checkout.

How Stripe can help

Stripe Payments provides a unified, global payments solution that helps any business—from scaling startups to global enterprises—accept payments online, in person, and around the world. Businesses can accept stablecoin payments from almost anywhere in the world that settle as fiat in their Stripe balance.

Stripe Payments can help you:

• Optimise your checkout experience: Create a frictionless customer experience and save thousands of engineering hours with prebuilt payment UIs, access to 125+ payment methods, including stablecoins and crypto.

• Expand to new markets faster: Reach customers worldwide and reduce the complexity and cost of multicurrency management with cross-border payment options, available in 195 countries across 135+ currencies.

• Unify payments in person and online: Build a unified commerce experience across online and in-person channels to personalise interactions, reward loyalty, and grow revenue.

• Improve payments performance: Increase revenue with a range of customizable, easy-to-configure payment tools, including no-code fraud protection and advanced capabilities to improve authorisation rates.

• Move faster with a flexible, reliable platform for growth: Build on a platform designed to scale with you, with 99.999% historical uptime and industry-leading reliability.

Learn more about how Stripe Payments can power your online and in-person payments, or get started today.