Circle x Lyzi: Stablecoin Payments for Real-World Commerce

The partnership between Circle and Lyzi is not a proof of concept. It is a working infrastructure, live today, across thousands of physical merchants in France and Europe.

This collaboration launched publicly at EthCC Cannes delivers one concrete proposition: stablecoins like EURC and USDC can replace card payments at the point of sale, with zero volatility exposure for merchants and zero friction for users.

Why EURC and USDC at Physical POS Changes Everything

Stablecoins have long been confined to DeFi rails and crypto-to-crypto trading. The integration of Circle's EURC (euro-pegged stablecoin) and USDC into Lyzi's crypto payment infrastructure for retailers breaks that boundary for good.

What this enables in practice:

• A customer pays in EURC from their wallet in under 5 seconds
• The merchant receives euros instantly — no crypto exposure, no settlement delay
• The transaction is processed through Lyzi's ACPR-regulated payment infrastructure (REGAFI n°26900), with full AML/KYC compliance built in
• Reconciliation is automated on the merchant side — no manual conversion, no accounting overhead

This is exactly what Circle captured at EthCC Cannes: real stablecoin payments, real merchants, real croissants.

Lyzi's Infrastructure: the Bridge Between Circle's Stablecoins and the Real Economy

Lyzi operates as a regulated payment agent (Agent de paiement ACPR, REGAFI n°26900) and EU-registered VASP, which means Circle's stablecoins are not just technically integrated they are distributed through a compliant, auditable payment layer built to the same standards as traditional PSPs.

The live architecture:

• 1 million+ compatible payment terminals (Ingenico, Verifone, Nepting, Sylq, Yavin, Landi, Sunmi, Famoco)
• 2,000+ merchants across France and Europe already accepting crypto payments
• Real-time conversion and automated bank reconciliation for merchant settlements
• EURC, USDC, USDT supported — alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum

This infrastructure is the exact reason Circle chose Lyzi as an integration partner: not a wallet app, but a scalable crypto payment infrastructure built for enterprise-grade distribution.

EthCC Cannes: Where the Demo Became a Deployment

The Lyzi × Circle collaboration went public at EthCC Cannes and the Circle Dev Summit Cannes. The demo environment was not a sandbox — it was the live Lyzi merchant network operating across the city.

130+ local merchants in Cannes accepted crypto payments during the event, processed through Lyzi's infrastructure with EURC and USDC as primary stablecoin rails.

The outcome confirmed the thesis: stablecoin adoption at retail scale does not require user education. It requires merchant infrastructure. Lyzi provides that infrastructure. Circle provides the regulated, transparent stablecoin layer.

"Stablecoins are not coming; they are already there."— Damien Patureaux, CEO of Lyzi

Stablecoin Payments: The Technical Reality for Merchants

The most common objection from merchants considering stablecoin acceptance is volatility risk. The Lyzi × Circle integration eliminates it structurally:

ParameterTraditional cryptoEURC / USDC via LyziSettlement currencyCrypto (volatile)Euros (stable)Settlement time24–48hInstantCompliance layerNoneACPR + EU VASPMerchant accountingManualAutomated reconciliationPOS compatibilityCustom integrations1M+ terminals natively

Merchants on Lyzi's network — including Printemps, Fitness Park, Barrière Group, SBM Monaco — receive euros. Their P&L is not affected by crypto price movements. The stablecoin rail is invisible to their back office.

A Regulatory Framework That Makes the Difference

Circle is the issuer of EURC, a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin, and USDC, the most liquid regulated dollar stablecoin globally. Lyzi distributes these assets through a regulated payment gateway — not a grey-zone crypto app.

This matters structurally for institutional and large-scale merchant adoption:

• Lyzi holds ACPR Agent de paiement status (REGAFI n°26900) — same regulatory tier as traditional PSPs
• Lyzi is VASP-registered with the KNF — full legal compliance for crypto asset services in EU
• Every transaction processed through the Circle × Lyzi stack is subject to AML screening, KYC validation, and transaction monitoring

For PSPs and banks looking to deploy stablecoin payment capabilities across their merchant networks, this is the compliant path. Learn how Lyzi integrates with PSPs and financial institutions →

What Comes Next

The Circle × Lyzi partnership is not a one-event activation. It is an ongoing infrastructure collaboration with two near-term vectors:

1. Geographic expansion — deploying EURC and USDC acceptance beyond France, across EU markets where Lyzi's EU VASP registration applies
2. E-commerce — extending stablecoin payment acceptance to Lyzi's e-commerce checkout integration, enabling online merchants to accept EURC and USDC alongside traditional crypto

The infrastructure is live. The regulatory framework is in place. The merchant network is scaling.

Explore Lyzi's full stablecoin payment infrastructure: Retailers · E-commerce · Brands & Luxury · PSP & Banks‍