Example: How a Santa Fe Ceramics Studio Pays a Supplier in Portugal With USDC

Carmen, a woman with dark hair in a bun wearing a clay-smudged canvas apron, stands in her ceramics studio in Santa Fe beside shelves of colorful glazed pots, smiling at a phone confirmation in her hand.

Carmen runs a small ceramics business in Santa Fe. She sources glazes and specialist materials from a supplier in Portugal. For two years, she paid by international wire. The fees averaged $52 per transfer, the currency exchange rate cost her another 3 percent, and the payment took four days to clear. After enabling crypto through her existing payment account in early 2026, she asked her supplier if they could receive USDC. They already had a wallet. She sent her next order payment in USDC. The fee was $1.80. The supplier confirmed receipt the same afternoon^[1]. Carmen now pays her Portuguese supplier monthly in USDC. She estimates the annual saving in fees alone is around $600. The supplier prefers it because the funds arrive immediately rather than sitting in international transit. Neither of them had to learn anything complicated. Carmen sends from her crypto account. Her supplier receives in their wallet and converts when they want to.