Apple Pay is now looking at stablecoins
The listing is for an Apple Pay Financial Product Strategy Lead within the Apple Card and Apple Cash team. The role includes studying new growth opportunities and contributing to the long-term strategy for Apple’s financial products. The qualifications explicitly include an understanding of stablecoins, tokenized deposits and blockchain technologies.
The detail deserves attention as stablecoins are gradually moving beyond the crypto market alone and into payments. Apple already operates peer-to-peer transfers through Apple Cash, cards and the vast Apple Pay network. Introducing a tokenized dollar into that architecture would therefore not require building a payment system from scratch.
The salary also adds to the significance of the listing: Apple lists a range of between $149,700 and $280,000. This does not prove that a stablecoin will arrive in Wallet tomorrow. The company is asking for expertise, not explicitly building a crypto product.
The distinction matters.
Even so, Apple is now listing blockchain among the skills relevant to defining its future financial services. Just a few years ago, this kind of reference would have been unusual in a job posting directly connected to Apple Pay.
Samsung has already gone much further
At Samsung, there is less need for conditional language. During Galaxy Unpacked on July 22, 2026, in London, the group announced that Samsung Wallet will natively integrate stablecoins. A demonstration even displayed USDC, although Samsung has not yet confirmed a blockchain, partner issuer or precise launch schedule.
BrefCrypto had already been following this strategy when Samsung SDS began preparing a stablecoin infrastructure with Dunamu. The project covers issuance, circulation and settlement, alongside work on digital payments.
Samsung is not starting from zero in crypto either. Samsung Pay has been available as a funding method on Coinbase in the United States and Canada since 2025, while the group plans to gradually bring its blockchain features closer to Samsung Wallet.
Apple is therefore facing a competitor that has already publicly taken an additional step.
It is hardly surprising that Cupertino is looking into the matter.
More than 3.5 billion devices in the equation
The scale gives this battle another dimension. In January, Apple said it had more than 2.5 billion active devices worldwide. Samsung, for its part, has more than one billion active Galaxy smartphones, according to data from Counterpoint Research. Combined, the two installed bases therefore exceed 3.5 billion devices. This does not represent 3.5 billion distinct people, however: one user may own several Apple devices or use multiple ecosystems.
This is probably where the story becomes more interesting than the simple recruitment of a blockchain specialist.
Stablecoins have long needed exchanges, specialized wallets and technical knowledge to reach the general public. Their arrival in Apple Wallet or Samsung Wallet would change the interface. In theory, users could send a digital dollar from the application they already use for their bank card, tickets or digital keys.
In Africa, this logic is already beginning to emerge in another form. DCS Pay and Kotani Pay, for example, are seeking to connect USDT and USDC to mobile money and local currencies. The crypto product is gradually disappearing behind the payment experience.
Apple is not there yet. An announcement, a stablecoin, a blockchain and, above all, a product that is actually available are still missing.
Samsung has already announced its intention.
Apple is now recruiting the expertise needed to understand this landscape.
If Apple Pay ultimately takes the step, stablecoins will not simply gain another wallet. They will gain access to one of the world’s largest technology distribution networks.
