FSL Debuts Tool to Make Real-World Purchases With Web3 Income

Web3 development studio FSL has introduced its payment solution GMT Pay.

Announced Wednesday (Jan. 22), the tool lets users earn income from the FSL lifestyle app STEPN and then use those earnings to make real-world purchases.

“Three years ago, the idea of a Web3 payments app felt like a distant dream,” said Yawn Rong, co-founder of FSL. “Today, it’s a reality. You can go for a run with STEPN GO, earn rewards, download GMT Pay, and seamlessly use your earnings to make real-world purchases. This is the evolution of Web3—bridging the gap between digital and physical worlds.”

While the tool has yet to launch publicly, the company has set up a waitlist, giving early adopters priority access to the platform.

“GMT Pay is the next step in empowering users to bring Web3 into their everyday lives,” FSL Chief Executive Shiti Manghani said. From fitness enthusiasts earning on STEPN GO to shoppers looking for global convenience, GMT Pay makes digital earnings useful in ways we couldn’t imagine just a few years ago.”

According to the release, the new offering centers around the GMT Giftcard, a virtual Mastercard that comes in denominations of $50, $100, $200 and $300 and lets users make online and offline payments. The card is also compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay for mobile transactions.

“GMT Pay is designed to be globally accessible, enabling users across different regions to benefit from its features,” FSL added.

“While certain restrictions may apply, the platform is widely available, making it a significant step in FSL’s mission to integrate Web3 into everyday life.”

In other recent Web3 news, PYMNTS this week examined the benefits of blockchain for helping advance industries such as finance.

“As more banks integrate blockchain capabilities, customers will have greater choice in transferring value,” FV Bank CEO Miles Paschini told PYMNTS this month. “We’re blazing the trail for a future where blockchain is just another payment rail.”

But without strong privacy measures, blockchain adoption in financial services could be limited to niche use cases where strict data protection isn’t required.

“The largest financial institutions are eager to explore tokenized assets,” but they require regulatory certainty to do so at scale, Nikola Plecas, head of commercialization at Visa Crypto, said in an interview here in October.

In the end, the relationship between blockchain and traditional finance illustrates the wider tension between innovation and regulation, PYMNTS wrote.

“By embracing this paradox and investing in privacy-preserving technologies, collaborative frameworks and regulatory clarity, the financial industry can turn blockchain’s transparency from a challenge into a competitive advantage,” that report concluded.