Crypto Goes Grocery: KuCoin Pay and DFX.swiss Bring Digital Payments to SPAR Stores in Switzerland

In a move signaling crypto’s continued march into mainstream commerce, KuCoin Pay has teamed up with Swiss fintech firm DFX.swiss to enable cryptocurrency payments at over 100 SPAR locations across Switzerland. The integration allows customers to pay for everyday items using stablecoins and other digital assets directly from the KuCoin app.

The partnership leverages DFX.swiss’s OpenCryptoQR solution, an infrastructure designed to streamline in-person crypto payments. Once a QR code is scanned, transactions are executed seamlessly, with merchants receiving instant fiat settlements and customers incurring no gas fees. Compared to traditional payment methods, the system offers lower commission costs and eliminates the need for manual crypto-to-fiat conversion.

Beyond the technical functionality, the integration signals a broader shift: digital assets are no longer limited to trading or long-term holding. With this rollout, crypto enters the realm of daily retail- groceries, household items, and routine purchases, placing digital currencies in the same category as traditional fiat when it comes to practical utility.

“We are thrilled to partner with DFX.swiss, whose innovative gateway supports popular payment methods while ensuring compliance with Swiss financial regulations,” said Raymond Ngai, KuCoin Pay Lead. “At KuCoin Pay, we are committed to making crypto part of daily life, enhancing its real-world utility, and creating seamless shopping experiences for our 41 million global users by bridging traditional retail and digital asset payments.”

DFX.swiss, a regulated crypto services provider, sees this development as a critical milestone in the broader effort to normalize the use of digital currencies in everyday life.

“The collaboration with KuCoin Pay is another step toward advancing crypto payments internationally,” said Cyrill Thommen, Founder and CEO of DFX.swiss. “Our mission at DFX.swiss is to make digital assets accessible and usable in everyday life. With KuCoin Pay, we are creating an easy way for that. This is an important step towards a future in which digital payments are common and widespread.”

The launch builds on KuCoin Pay’s ongoing expansion into retail, e-commerce, travel, gaming, and digital rewards. The platform’s recent on-chain upgrade complements its off-chain infrastructure, enabling both direct decentralized payments and more traditional merchant integrations.

As the crypto space matures, initiatives like this one mark a turning point, where utility begins to overtake novelty, and crypto becomes not just an asset class, but an everyday payment method.