- A Sydney customer reportedly completed Australia’s first retail stablecoin payment on Base using the Australian dollar-backed token AUDD.
- The payment settled almost instantly on-chain without relying on banks, card networks or conventional payment processors.
- The transaction highlighted Australia’s existing stablecoin licensing framework and growing interest in blockchain-based retail payments.
A customer purchasing laksa at a Malaysian takeaway store in Sydney has reportedly completed Australia’s first retail payment using the Australian dollar stablecoin AUDD on the Base blockchain network. The transaction was processed on 21 May and settled within seconds using Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer-2 network without involving traditional card payment intermediaries.
The payment was made through a tap-to-pay system that allowed the customer to use either a card, phone or QR code linked to a digital wallet. While the payment experience resembled a standard debit card transaction, the settlement occurred fully on-chain through AUDD rather than through banks or card processors.
AUDD is issued by AUDC Pty Ltd under Australian Financial Services Licence number 700123 and is backed one-to-one by reserves held in Australian banks. The stablecoin is also available across several blockchain networks including Ethereum, Solana, Stellar, Hedera and XDC.
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Stablecoins Move Into Everyday Payments
The report said the merchant received the payment directly through the blockchain system and could either retain the funds in stablecoin form or convert them into Australian dollars. The transaction also reportedly bypassed standard Visa and card-processing fees typically associated with retail payments.
The development has drawn attention to Australia’s existing regulatory structure for stablecoins, which already permits licensed issuers such as AUDC Pty Ltd to operate under financial services laws. The report contrasted this with the United States, where stablecoin legislation remains unresolved in Congress.
Industry observers said the transaction demonstrated how blockchain infrastructure such as Base could support real-time retail payments with lower costs and reduced reliance on traditional financial intermediaries.
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