UPay has compared three ways to use cryptocurrency for online purchases: paying at a merchant’s crypto checkout, converting funds through a payment card, or buying a retailer gift card. Its June 16, 2026 guide identifies gift card platforms as a route to retailers that have not integrated cryptocurrency payments themselves.

The gift card examples include Bitrefill and eGifter. In that model, the customer purchases a retailer’s card through a distributor using a supported cryptocurrency, then redeems the card under the retailer’s normal terms. The retailer need not accept or hold the customer’s digital assets.

Direct acceptance is a different arrangement. A merchant uses a crypto payment processor to receive a transaction, with settlement depending on the service and merchant configuration. UPay discusses processors including BitPay and NOWPayments, alongside its own payment offering.

Crypto-funded cards create a third route by converting the funding asset into currency used for a card transaction. Acceptance still depends on the card program, merchant and location; the existence of a Visa or Mastercard network connection does not guarantee that every transaction or country is supported.

The guide recommends checking network fees, conversion costs and any gift card markup before completing a purchase. For gift cards, the available region, denomination and redemption channel also determine whether a product fits the intended purchase.

The source’s suggestion that USDC spending has no tax consequences is too broad. IRS digital-asset guidance states that disposing of stablecoins held as capital assets requires recognition of a capital gain or loss, even when a broker does not issue a transaction statement. A small or zero gain does not make the asset categorically exempt from the relevant reporting rules.

UPay’s transaction-record advice includes retaining cost basis and disposal values. Those records matter when digital assets are exchanged for goods, services or gift cards, regardless of whether the merchant ultimately receives cryptocurrency or conventional currency.