Stablecoins Are Coming for Your Rewards Points: Paul J. Davies

Credit cards versus stablecoins is one of the less-discussed competitive battles ahead, but it’s one where traditional finance faces the most coherent threat. The constant-dollar-value crypto tokens offer a route to cheap, fast payments — and in the US, that could make a real difference to consumers and retailers who still pay unusually high fees for card transactions compared with Europe.

The growth prospects for stablecoins are overblown in my view, but they may offer an opportunity for merchants and airlines to recover costs from big banks and networks like Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. If customers can be persuaded ...