Trip.com tests stablecoin payments overseas, offering USDT and USDC for prepaid bookings

Core Insights - Trip.com has begun allowing overseas users to pay for prepaid hotel and flight bookings using stablecoins USDT and USDC, indicating a growing acceptance of these dollar-pegged tokens [1][5] - This development occurs despite the Chinese government's strict stance on cryptocurrency activities [2][5] Group 1: Company Actions - The stablecoin payment option was enabled on October 9, and is available to users in specific regions when booking through Trip.com's international platform [1] - A Foresight reporter successfully booked a hotel and flight using USDT in Vietnam, noting that these bookings were cheaper than those on Trip.com's mainland China app [3] Group 2: Market Context - The People's Bank of China stated that stablecoins do not meet the mainland's anti-money-laundering requirements, which may limit their use in certain markets [4] - Trip.com does not offer stablecoin payments to users in mainland China and some other regions, with the availability of the option determined by the user's IP address [5] - In August, over US$10 billion worth of stablecoins were used for payments, more than double the US$4.3 billion from the previous year, with business-to-business transfers making up most of this total [6] Group 3: Industry Trends - Several Chinese tech firms, including Ant Group and JD.com, are exploring stablecoin initiatives in Hong Kong, which is establishing a licensing regime for stablecoin issuers to become a digital asset hub [7]