Bolt Financial Introduces Bolt Connect, Stablecoin Payments for Faster Merchant Onboarding

Bolt Financial Inc., a San Francisco-based one-click checkout platform, has introduced two significant updates aimed at addressing longstanding challenges in online commerce. The company has launched Bolt Connect, an integration layer designed to streamline merchant onboarding to a single click. Additionally, the platform now supports stablecoin payments, facilitating near-instant and low-cost global payouts.

Bolt Connect represents a strategic shift for the company, moving its focus from enhancing front-end user experience to tackling backend infrastructure issues. This new integration layer addresses a critical dilemma in digital commerce: the balance between rapid growth and operational sustainability. Traditionally, marketplaces have faced increasing complexity with each new merchant, but Bolt Connect aims to eliminate these scaling barriers by automating the merchant onboarding process. This reduction in verification time, from days to near-instant approval, is achieved while maintaining compliance through built-in regulatory checks.

The integration of stablecoin payments further enhances Bolt’s offerings by targeting the transactional layer of global commerce. This feature allows merchants to access funds immediately, bypassing the delays associated with traditional banking settlements. By circumventing card networks and correspondent banks, Bolt’s system significantly reduces the percentage-based fees that typically impact marketplace margins. This innovation is particularly beneficial for platforms expanding internationally, where cross-border documentation and payment processing have historically required specialized legal and financial teams.

Ryan Breslow, Founder and CEO of Bolt, emphasized the transformative potential of these updates. “Marketplaces shouldn’t have to choose between scale and simplicity,” he stated. “With Bolt Connect, we’re giving them the tools to grow without the usual technical burden, while stablecoin support opens the door to faster, borderless payments for everyone in the network.”

Bolt’s strategic pivot towards backend infrastructure underscores a broader trend in the fintech industry: recognizing that user experience alone is insufficient to address the structural inefficiencies of digital commerce. While Bolt’s earlier products focused on consumer-facing improvements like one-click checkout, these latest developments aim to enhance the operational plumbing that determines whether marketplaces can scale or stall. By addressing these foundational issues, Bolt is positioning itself as a key player in redefining how digital marketplaces operate and grow.