Coinbase Launches New Business Payment Tools for Instant Global Transactions

The new global payouts and payment links work with USDC, a digital dollar that stays pegged to the U.S. dollar’s value.

The crypto exchange says these tools solve problems businesses face with traditional payment systems: high fees, slow transfers, and complicated international transactions. Companies can now move money across borders in seconds instead of days, with lower costs than bank wires or credit card processing.

How Global Payouts Work

The global payouts feature lets businesses send USDC to anyone with either a crypto wallet address or just an email. Recipients don’t need existing crypto accounts. If someone receives payment via email, they can create a free Coinbase account, claim their funds, and cash out in their local currency.

Businesses can fund these payments from their Coinbase Business balance or link a regular bank account. The system includes contact management tools to save vendor information, reducing errors when making repeat payments. An accompanying API allows companies to automate their payment workflows, setting up scheduled, batch, or on-demand disbursements to contractors and vendors globally.

Source: @CoinbaseBiz

Importantly, recipients face no gas fees when receiving payments on Base, Coinbase’s Layer 2 blockchain network. This removes a common barrier that makes crypto transactions expensive on some networks.

Payment Links for Collecting Money

The second feature, payment links, helps businesses collect payments from customers. Companies create a shareable link requesting a specific USDC amount. Customers click the link and pay using wallets like MetaMask, Phantom, or the Base app.

These transactions settle in under one second on the Base network. There are no network fees, no chargebacks, and no 3% credit card processing fees. Businesses can share payment links through email, text messages, QR codes, or embed them as Buy buttons on websites.

A Payment Links API coming soon will let developers generate these links at scale, useful for apps or online stores that need to create many payment requests automatically.

Financial Benefits and Integration

Coinbase Business accounts earn 4.1% annual percentage yield (APY) on USDC balances. Users can withdraw funds anytime to linked bank accounts via wire transfer or ACH. This yield comes from Coinbase’s 50/50 revenue split with Circle, the company that issues USDC, which currently has a $76 billion market cap.

The platform integrates with QuickBooks and Xero through CoinTracker, letting businesses sync all transactions with their accounting software. This helps companies stay compliant with tax and reporting requirements while adopting crypto payments.

The Technology Behind It

These features run on Coinbase Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS), the same infrastructure that powers enterprise clients like Shopify. The system uses Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2 network, which processes transactions faster and cheaper than the main Ethereum blockchain.

Base has shown strong performance recently. In October 2024, it briefly captured over 30% of all stablecoin transaction volume, surpassing established networks like Solana and Ethereum for daily stablecoin activity.

Market Context and Competition

Stablecoins have become a serious force in payments. According to Visa data, nearly $9 trillion in stablecoin transactions occurred over the past year. Citigroup projects the stablecoin market could reach between $1.9 trillion and $4 trillion by 2030, depending on adoption rates.

Other payment companies are moving into this space. Stripe, Ramp, and traditional payment processors are testing stablecoin systems. However, Coinbase’s liquidity and regulatory compliance experience may give it an advantage in the growing market.

The timing aligns with improved regulations. The GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, created a federal framework for stablecoin issuers in the U.S., providing clearer rules for companies operating in this space.

Coinbase stock rose slightly when the announcement dropped, while competitors PayPal and Visa saw their shares edge lower. The market appears to see Coinbase as a growing threat in the payments industry.

Product Strategy Moving Forward

Coinbase Business is currently in alpha testing for early U.S. customers. The company plans full availability later in 2025. Most applications get approved within two days through a self-service onboarding process.

The company also announced plans to merge Coinbase Commerce, its crypto checkout product, into Coinbase Business in coming months. The unified platform will offer full custody and cash-out capabilities that weren’t available in the standalone Commerce product.

Sid Coelho-Prabhu, Coinbase’s senior director of product management, said: “Startups and small businesses are weighed down by slow payments, high fees, and outdated banking systems. Coinbase Business brings the speed and global reach of crypto to modern financial operations.”

Bottom Line

Coinbase’s new payment tools represent a direct challenge to traditional payment networks by offering instant settlement, lower fees, and global reach through stablecoin technology. Whether businesses will adopt these systems at scale remains to be seen, but the infrastructure is now in place for companies to move money faster and cheaper than conventional banking allows. The success will likely depend on how comfortable businesses become using digital dollars instead of traditional payment rails.