Binance is doubling down on its super app vision, with payments taking the lead role. Shunyet Jan, the exchange's head of spot and derivatives, told CoinDesk that the company aims to become a super app with payments at the center. The push comes as Binance Pay's monthly merchant payment volume jumped 114% year-over-year in 2026, with 98% of that volume settled in stablecoins. The platform now counts 21 million registered merchants.
Why payments are the new focus
Trading fees are cyclical. They rise and fall with market volatility. Payment flows, float, and merchant services, on the other hand, are steadier and stickier sources of revenue. That's a big reason Binance is leaning into payments. The median merchant ticket on Binance Pay climbed from $10 in 2025 to $18 in 2026, signaling that users are treating the service as more than a test. The company says it has 323 million registered users across more than 100 countries and has processed $156 trillion in all-time trading volume.
Stablecoin market dips but payment rails expand
The broader stablecoin market cap has fallen by roughly $10 billion since May. Yet payment infrastructure built on top of those tokens keeps growing. As of mid-July, USDT's market cap stood at about $184 billion and USDC's at roughly $73 billion. The decline hasn't slowed adoption of stablecoin-based payments. Bitso, a Latin American crypto exchange, reported that its institutional payments unit saw stablecoin payment volumes increase 81% year-over-year in the first half of 2026.
Beyond payments: stocks and data
Binance's direct-stocks product hit $1 billion in assets under management within 30 days of launch and has generated over $3 billion in cumulative trading volume. That product sits alongside the payments push. The company also sees payments data as a resource. It can inform risk models, credit decisions, targeted offers, and even the launch of new mini-apps. The super app idea isn't just about moving money — it's about using that movement to build a broader financial ecosystem.
For now, the question is whether Binance can sustain the payment growth while navigating regulatory scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions. The company hasn't said when it expects to roll out additional super app features or in which markets.
