Binance Pay brings crypto spending to millions of PayPay merchants in Japan

Binance Pay has opened crypto payments to eligible overseas users at millions of PayPay supported merchant locations across Japan through the HIVEX payment network.

Binance said on Sept. 30 that the service gives approximately 48 million eligible Binance Pay users from more than 100 countries and regions access to PayPay supported merchants while visiting Japan. Merchants continue receiving settlement in Japanese yen, leaving the crypto side of the transaction with Binance Pay and the connected payment infrastructure.

The service is designed for overseas travelers and can be used for purchases across restaurants, stores, accommodation and other businesses where the supported PayPay payment flow is available.

Users can pay directly from their Binance accounts by scanning a merchant’s PayPay QR code through Binance Pay. Where supported, they can instead display a payment code in the Binance app for the merchant to scan.

Japanese residents are not eligible for the feature, according to Binance. Overseas users must come from a jurisdiction where Binance Pay is supported and complete the exchange’s identity verification process.

Binance Pay connects crypto users with PayPay merchants

HIVEX provides the connection between Binance Pay and PayPay’s merchant network, allowing an overseas payment service to work with the QR infrastructure already used by Japanese businesses.

PayPay describes HIVEX as a service that lets visitors use supported overseas QR payment applications at participating PayPay merchants in Japan. Businesses do not need to separately integrate each overseas wallet connected to the network.

The system had already been used to connect several overseas payment services with PayPay before Binance Pay joined the network. Earlier in September, crypto.news previously reported that PayPay added UnionPay QR payments through HIVEX for visitors using the UnionPay App.

Following the UnionPay addition, PayPay said its merchant network could receive payments from 36 overseas cashless services covering 17 countries and regions. The company estimated that the countries and regions represented by those services accounted for approximately 80% of international visitors to Japan.

Binance Pay brings a different type of payment source into that infrastructure because users can spend supported digital assets from their Binance accounts.

Thomas Gregory, Binance’s vice president of payments and fiat, described Japan as one of the leading destinations for connected cashless payments.

“Our integration with PayPay reflects a shared vision of making payments more seamless, borderless, and accessible for travelers visiting the country,” Gregory said.

He said the arrangement gives travelers more ways to pay while allowing PayPay supported merchants to serve international customers through their existing payment setup.

PayPay merchants continue receiving Japanese yen

For merchants, the payment flow remains tied to the local PayPay system even when a Binance Pay user funds a purchase with digital assets.

Binance said merchants receive Japanese yen rather than cryptocurrency, removing the need for individual businesses to hold or directly process digital assets.

PayPay’s merchant guidance says HIVEX transactions follow a similar process to ordinary PayPay payments. Customers either scan the store’s QR code using a supported application or display a payment code that staff scan at checkout. Merchants can confirm completion through PayPay for Business.

PayPay says eligible merchants do not need to submit a separate application to begin receiving HIVEX payments, although businesses can disable the service through their PayPay for Business settings.

The setup gives Binance Pay access to existing payment infrastructure instead of requiring the exchange to sign up Japanese restaurants, hotels and retailers individually.

Binance has been building similar links between its payment service and existing local payment systems. A crypto payments strategy outlined by the company earlier this year placed payments and stablecoins alongside its trading business.

Binance Research said in April that Binance Pay had reached more than 21 million merchants globally and had connected with domestic payment networks including Brazil’s Pix. The service supports QR based payments as part of the exchange’s effort to make digital assets usable for purchases and transfers.

PayPay and Binance already have ties in Japan

The latest payment rollout follows an existing relationship between PayPay and Binance’s Japanese operation.

SoftBank group company PayPay acquired a 40% stake in Binance Japan in October 2025 under a capital and business alliance between the two companies.

At the time, PayPay had more than 70 million users in Japan. The agreement was designed to combine PayPay’s cashless payment network with Binance’s digital asset services.

Their first services focused on moving money between PayPay and Binance Japan rather than spending crypto at merchants. Binance Japan users gained the ability to use PayPay Money and PayPay Points to purchase cryptocurrency, while proceeds from crypto sales could be transferred back into PayPay.

The companies expanded that connection in April 2026 by allowing customers to deposit Japanese yen into Binance Japan through PayPay Money before placing a crypto order. Users could then use the deposited balance for purchases, limit orders and exchange trading.

Binance Japan raised the PayPay Money instant deposit limits in August. The 24 hour ceiling went from ¥300,000 to ¥1 million, while the 30 day limit moved from ¥1 million to ¥2 million.

The Sept. 30 service serves a different user group. Binance said the PayPay QR feature through HIVEX is limited to eligible international visitors rather than residents using Binance Japan.

Japan tests more ways to use digital assets for payments

Japan’s retail payment sector has been testing other ways to connect digital assets with established checkout infrastructure.

Convenience store operator Lawson tested stablecoin payments using JPYC, USDC and USDT at two Tokyo locations in August.

The pilot connected digital wallets directly with Lawson’s existing point of sale registers. Customers displayed a payment barcode from a supported wallet, which staff scanned through the normal checkout system instead of using a separate crypto payment terminal.

Lawson said it would assess transaction speed, system stability and store operations before deciding whether to pursue wider deployment.

Japan’s payments sector has been exploring stablecoin settlement beyond retail stores as well. JCB partnered with Circle in July to test USDC for internal treasury transfers and merchant payments, with the first stage focused on JCB’s own cross border fund transfers before potential retail use.

Binance Pay’s latest service takes a different route by connecting overseas crypto users with an established Japanese QR payment network.

Gregory said the company sees connections with local payment systems as a way to make digital asset payments available through payment experiences already familiar to merchants and travelers.

Binance said the PayPay interoperability through HIVEX is available from Sept. 30 to eligible Binance Pay users visiting Japan.