Pay-on-behalf experiments are expanding crypto payment acceptance, but some experts have regulatory concerns.
A small group of startups is quietly showing that crypto can be spent at regular stores without forcing merchants to change their point-of-sale systems or learn complicated new procedures.
They work through a pay-on-behalf system, where shoppers scan the merchant’s usual bank QR code, send crypto into an app or escrow wallet, and a local partner pays the merchant in fiat.
The crypto goes to the local partner after the merchant gets paid, so the app or escrow wallet holds the funds until the payment is settled, acting like a temporary promise to pay.
Launched in late 2024, PlebQR is one example that brings together Thailand’s PromptPay system, a government-backed payment network, and Bitcoin.
Users can spend BTC on the Lightning Network at any Thai merchant with a PromptPay QR code by getting matched with a local who pays the merchant in Thai baht for them. Once the local partner completes the payment, they receive the crypto and the customer’s payment at the merchant is completed.
PlebQR emphasizes privacy. According to the website, all authentication data is deleted after an order, apart from the price and access time. Lightning addresses, invoices, QR codes, and receipts aren’t stored and the system isn’t connected to PromptPay, so no data is shared with third parties, per the project’s privacy policy.
Data from the website shows that PlebQR has handled over 1,270 payments with more than 670,000 Thai baht (around $21,560) since launch, with more than a 75% success rate, while average payment time takes about 88 seconds, though The Defiant couldn’t independently verify these figures.
Stablecoin Alternative
While PlebQR handles only Bitcoin payments, other startups have focused on stablecoins instead.
Kyrgyzstan-incorporated crypto startup Antarctic Wallet takes a similar approach but offers services mainly in Russia, which is under international sanctions, and where crypto can’t be used directly as cash due to the local restrictions.
Users sign up via Telegram, scan a merchant SBP QR — the country’s analog of FedNow — and pay in USDT or TON. The app then routes the fiat to the merchant via a “verified counterparty,” while deducting the crypto from the user’s balance. Payments take about eight seconds and transfers to a card take two to three minutes, according to the website.
But unlike PlebQR, Antarctic Wallet isn’t fully non-custodial and applies fees to cover “blockchain network fees and AML checks.”
The platform requires a minimum deposit of $5 in USDT. Fees for top-ups vary depending on the token and network, with $2.75 for USDT on TRC-20 and 0.2 TON for TON on the TON network. Top-ups in USDT using the TON network are currently free.
It’s worth noting that these projects aren’t entirely new. Enthusiasts have built similar demos at ETHGlobal Taipei in 2025, showing tourists could scan local QR codes and pay merchants via local users who receive crypto in return.
Regulatory Risks and UX Tradeoffs
Tom Armstrong, head of compliance advisory at blockchain forensics firm TRM Labs, noted in commentary for The Defiant that platforms like PlebQR and Antarctic Waller can differ significantly in risk profile depending on their custody model.
“In more centralized models—where a platform holds user funds, aggregates liquidity, and executes payments on users’ behalf—the platform effectively becomes the primary AML control point,” Armstrong said.
He added that non-custodial approaches, by contrast, “typically present a different and often lower risk profile for the platform operator itself.”
There are several other trade-offs as well. Peer-match flows depend on the reliability of local partners, and even in demonstrated examples, payments through services like PlebQR take several minutes to complete, a big lag compared with the near-instant experience of Visa or Mastercard.
And on top of that, users should keep in mind that even non-custodial products handling fiat payments can be exposed to money laundering, which increases financial and regulatory risks and could lead to delays, frozen funds or scrutiny from authorities.
Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs, told The Defiant that they pay-on-behalf models show “something real and positive” because they let people “actually use crypto in the real world, not just hold it.”
But he also warned that a lot of these setups run through hidden layers of intermediaries.
“When you cannot see who is actually moving the funds or what controls are in place, AML and regulatory concerns emerge very quickly,” he said, adding that regulatory risk is heightened in jurisdictions like Russia or Kyrgyzstan, noting the potential for sanctions evasion and illicit finance exposure.
