PayFi

Short for Payment Finance, PayFi describes the emerging convergence of traditional payment systems and decentralized finance protocols. PayFi encompasses stablecoin-based payment rails, programmable payments via smart contracts, yield-bearing merchant settlement accounts, and the broader trend of embedding DeFi functionality into everyday payment flows. The concept gained significant traction in 2025-2026 as companies like Stripe, PayPal, and Square integrated stablecoin payment acceptance alongside traditional card processing.