Samsung Taps Solana for Zero-Fee USDC Remittances Across 82 Million Galaxy Phones

Samsung is bringing USDC remittances to 82 million Galaxy devices, giving eligible U.S. users a way to send dollar-pegged funds internationally through Samsung Wallet. The service is scheduled to begin rolling out in the last week of October, with recipients able to receive local currency in more than 60 countries.

How the Remittance Service Works

Users will be able to send Circle’s USDC from Samsung Wallet to compatible crypto wallets abroad or directly to eligible bank accounts. Recipients may receive local currency without creating or managing a crypto wallet, making the service more accessible to users who are unfamiliar with blockchain-based payments.

Samsung will not charge fees for transfers to compatible external wallets. However, recipient wallets, exchanges or other third-party providers may impose their own charges. The company has not disclosed whether additional costs will apply when funds are converted and delivered through participating bank accounts.

The system combines several crypto and financial infrastructure providers:

• Solana and Sui will provide underlying blockchain network support.
• Coinbase will custody USDC through Coinbase Prime Vault.
• Bastion will provide regulated stablecoin infrastructure.
• Samsung Wallet will serve as the consumer-facing payments interface.

Samsung Wallet is already used for cards, identification documents and boarding passes. Integrating remittances into the existing application gives stablecoins a distribution channel that does not require users to download a dedicated crypto wallet or navigate a specialized trading platform.

Samsung’s Stablecoin Expansion

The U.S. rollout is Samsung’s first large-scale deployment of its broader stablecoin strategy. In August, the company said it planned to add stablecoin savings and payment features to hundreds of millions of Galaxy phones. Future applications could include online payments and tap-to-pay transactions on eligible devices.

For Solana, the partnership extends the network’s role beyond trading and decentralized applications into consumer-facing cross-border payments. Solana Foundation President Lily Liu said stablecoins can make global money movement faster and easier, while the Samsung integration addresses the distribution challenge that has limited mainstream usage.

Stablecoin adoption in cross-border transactions has expanded this year as businesses and consumers seek lower-cost payment rails. The IMF has also identified low transaction costs as a factor supporting the growth of stablecoin-based transfers.

What This Means

The integration could place stablecoin remittances inside a familiar mobile payments environment, reducing the friction associated with crypto adoption. Samsung’s scale may give USDC, Solana and participating providers access to millions of potential users without requiring them to become active crypto market participants.

Availability outside the United States will depend on local regulation, and Samsung has not provided a timetable for international expansion. The rollout’s impact will therefore depend on execution, bank and wallet coverage, currency conversion costs and whether users adopt the feature for routine transfers rather than one-time experimentation.