For eligible Galaxy owners in the US, Samsung Wallet will soon offer a new way to send money abroad: USDC transfers to compatible crypto wallets and eligible bank accounts. The service is due to begin in the last week of October and will be available on 82 million compatible Galaxy devices in the US.
Recipients can receive the money in their local currency, with Borderless.xyz’s network handling payouts in more than 60 countries. Samsung has not identified the countries where the payout service will be available.
The launch puts a stablecoin transfer service inside Samsung’s existing payment app. At launch, USDC will be the only asset supported.
Users will need to complete identity verification before they can use it. Each transfer will also require biometric authentication on a registered device. The service is limited to US residents aged 18 or older who have an eligible Galaxy device running Android 13 or later.
Samsung will not charge users who transfer USDC to external wallets, although recipient platforms may levy their own fees. International bank transfers will carry charges that vary according to the destination and amount.
Samsung announced its plan to add stablecoin support at its Galaxy Unpacked event in July. It has chosen Bastion to provide the stablecoin account and payment infrastructure, while Coinbase will act as sub-custodian through Coinbase Prime Vault. Samsung said it will not hold customer funds.
Solana and Sui are technical partners. Users will be able to send USDC on Sui’s network without network fees or a balance of SUI to cover transaction costs.
For Borderless.xyz, the appeal is reaching people through a phone they already use. Its chief executive, Kevin Lehtiniitty, said: “Mass adoption was never going to come from people downloading crypto apps. It comes from the phone already in your pocket.”
Lehtiniitty has predicted that Apple and Google will introduce similar stablecoin capabilities.
Samsung said it could later add stablecoin payments online and in shops, though it has given no timetable for those features.
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