Delivery workers in 40 countries worldwide can receive stablecoin salaries! Delivery giant DoorDash adopts Tempo blockchain

Delivery giant DoorDash has partnered with Stripe’s blockchain arm, Tempo, to launch a stablecoin payroll payment test. The initiative aims to use on-chain dollars to solve cross-border payment delays and currency exchange costs for delivery workers and merchants across 40 countries worldwide.

Delivery Leader DoorDash Launches Stablecoin Payroll Payment Test with Tempo

Global delivery industry leader DoorDash has officially announced a deep collaboration with Tempo, a blockchain payments company. The program is designed to provide delivery workers (Dashers) and partner merchants across more than 40 countries with stablecoin-based payroll settlement and payment options through blockchain technology. This move signifies that on-chain dollars (On-chain Dollars) have officially entered the mainstream U.S. gig economy market.

Currently, DoorDash’s global market operations involve multiple currencies, complex payment rails, and different regulatory requirements in each country. The introduction of stablecoins can effectively address the efficiency decline caused by fragmented regional rails in traditional financial systems.

DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang noted that the complexity of the global payment system comes from differences in payment requirements across countries. DoorDash is building a payment infrastructure focused on settlement speed, reducing cross-border costs, and providing transaction flexibility.

Image source: DoorDash DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang

Data shows that in Q4 2025, DoorDash handled approximately 903 million orders, with a total value of up to $29.7 billion. With such a massive transaction volume, if some payment traffic can be shifted to stablecoins, it could significantly improve the efficiency of the entire ecosystem. This collaboration is also part of Tempo’s newly launched “Stablecoin Consulting” service, aimed at helping large enterprises embed stablecoin rails into existing products and banking stacks.

Tempo’s On-Chain Financial Blueprint and Blue-Chip Client Layout

Tempo is a dedicated Layer1 blockchain co-incubated by payments giant Stripe and crypto venture firm Paradigm. Unlike most public chains that emphasize speculative trading, Tempo positions itself as a “payment-first” blockchain, designed specifically for high-speed, low-cost stablecoin payments, cross-border remittances, and machine-to-machine (M2M) payments.

In 2025, the project completed a $500 million fundraising round with a valuation of $5 billion. Tempo’s core feature is extremely low transaction costs: the goal is to reduce per-transaction fees to below 0.001, and to pay fees directly in stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar, significantly lowering the usage threshold for enterprises and reducing accounting complexity.

• Related news: Payment giant Stripe teams up with venture capital to develop its own blockchain Tempo and build an independent payment network

In addition to DoorDash, Tempo’s partner lineup includes multiple financial giants. Payments giant Visa has announced that it will become a “Anchor Validator” for the Tempo network, jointly maintaining network operations with Stripe and Zodia Custody under Standard Chartered Bank. In addition, Coastal Community Bank, financial services platform ARQ, Shopify, and even OpenAI have all established early design collaborations or payment application relationships with Tempo.

Tempo has also launched a “Stablecoin Consulting” service, in which dedicated engineering teams help enterprises design treasury workflows and ensure compliance. These integration efforts show that blockchain payment infrastructure is shifting from the experimental stage to large-scale institutionalized applications.

Solving Global Payment Pain Points: Practical Benefits of Second-Level Settlement and Lower FX Costs

DoorDash’s core motivation for adopting stablecoin payments lies in its pursuit of efficiency. Traditional cross-border payments often take several days to settle and involve multiple intermediary banks, resulting in high fees and unfavorable currency exchange spreads. After switching to stablecoin settlement, transactions can be completed within seconds, making it highly attractive for delivery workers and small and medium-sized merchants that rely on real-time income.

Andy Fang emphasized that delivering funds to merchants and delivery workers in a more affordable and faster way can have a positive impact on the entire ecosystem.

The design of this infrastructure emphasizes “enterprise readiness.” Tempo’s sub-second settlement, fixed fee rates, and private transaction channels are characteristics that traditional public chains are difficult to provide. With these features, large platforms can move payroll disbursements, supplier settlements, and embedded financial products onto blockchain rails. This model allows users to enjoy the convenience brought by blockchain technology without having to deal with complex crypto wallets or private key custody.

In 2025, DoorDash generated nearly $75 billion in sales for local merchants. The introduction of stablecoin settlement will further simplify the cross-border costs and intermediary fees associated with these large flows of funds.

The Future of Stablecoin Payments? From a Crypto Niche to the Mainstream Labor Market

The stablecoin market value hit a new all-time high of $315 billion in April 2026, indicating that this type of digital asset is accelerating its integration into the global money flow system. Stripe, a fintech leader with annual payment processing volume approaching $2 trillion, is committed to turning blockchain and stablecoins into the core layer for global fund movement, with a vision to become “the AWS of the financial industry.”

After Stripe acquired the stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion in 2024, it has continuously strengthened its on-chain settlement capabilities. It believes that a 24/7 blockchain operating model is a natural extension of traditional banking rails and is well suited for new economic activities such as AI agents and high-frequency micropayments.

The widespread adoption of stablecoin payments has also brought new regulatory issues. As large platforms such as DoorDash begin experimenting with paying wages in stablecoins, regulators in different countries need to accelerate the formulation of relevant rules to address legal challenges brought by digital salaries and deposits. While DoorDash’s stock (DASH) fell slightly by about 2% after the news was announced, to around $186, the market generally remains optimistic about its long-term potential to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

DoorDash said that it is still in the early stages and will take a thoughtful approach to ensure that all built infrastructure meets compliance requirements and genuinely improves the payment and pay-collection experience for delivery workers and merchants.