https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/how-stablecoins-will-eat-payments/

Their arguments look promising at first glance, especially about how low-margin business like grocery stores can immediately double their margin by simply getting rid of the 2-3% credit card transaction fees if they switch to stable coins.

Now, with only my consumer brain, does what they say actually make sense? Do merchants actually want to get rid of the 2-3% transaction fees?

They view these fees as a mere burden imposed to merchants by the financial system, however, I think the fees are actually the financial system helping the merchants. These fees enable consumers to potentially spend more than what they have, and also earn rewards (sometimes tied directly to particular stores, so a essentially a loyalty program) by spending. Hence I think paying these high transaction fees is essential in driving up sales.

Here is the dilemma of stablecoins in daily transactions. Sure we can eliminate the high transaction fees, and we can even setup a service for consumers to borrow stablecoins, but if transaction fees are removed, who is going to pay the rewards (and loyalty program) modern CC carry? I feel as a consumer this is a very hard sell. Merchants can force adoption of stablecoin payments if they are desperate to save the transaction fees, but isn't this just going back to the age when financial systems weren't developed enough to help merchants acquire and maintain customers ? Also, there are already ways to pay with low transaction fees like a debit card or third-party app.

The argument of a $2 coffee is convincing, on the ground that transaction fees can make up as much as 15% of the total transaction. However, there is almost no $2 coffee in the real world, and for those really low-value transactions normally the use of a credit card is just not allowed.

There is a very similar argument from the founder of coinbase 13 years ago (he is really way ahead): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3754664

but again, are these just pipe dreams? Am I missing something?