USDT vs USDC: which should you accept?
They are both dollar-pegged stablecoins, and for accepting payments they behave almost identically. The real differences are reserves, adoption, and where your customers already hold funds. Here is how to choose.
The quick answer
For most businesses, the honest answer is: accept both. USDT and USDC are each pegged to the US dollar, both settle in seconds on BNB Smart Chain, and both cost the same to accept on Sendbase. Which one a given customer pays with mostly comes down to what they already hold. Offering both removes friction at checkout and lets the customer choose. That said, the two do differ in ways worth understanding.
Reserves and transparency
USDC, issued by Circle, has built its brand on regulated reserves and regular attestations, and is often the preferred choice for businesses that want the most conservative, compliance-friendly option. USDT, issued by Tether, is the older and by far the largest stablecoin by volume, and publishes its own reserve reporting. Both aim to hold one dollar of reserves per token; they differ in how that story is told and how regulators view each issuer. If reserve transparency is your top concern, USDC is usually the pick.
Adoption and liquidity
USDT is the most widely held and traded stablecoin in the world, and in many regions, especially across Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, it is the default dollar people already own. If your customers are global or in emerging markets, a large share of them will have USDT and expect to pay with it. USDC has very strong adoption too, particularly among US businesses, developers, and institutions. Neither is niche; the weighting just shifts by audience.
Availability on your chain
Sendbase runs on BNB Smart Chain, where both USDT and USDC exist as BEP-20 tokens. So on the network you will actually use, both are available and both settle in seconds for a few cents of gas. There is no technical reason to exclude one, which is a big part of why accepting both is the low-friction default.
Fees
On Sendbase, accepting USDT and accepting USDC cost exactly the same: free to open, 0.2% + $0.20 per payment collected via a link, checkout, or the API, and free deposits. So fees should not drive the choice. Pick based on what your customers hold and how conservative you want your treasury to be. See the full pricing for details.
Side by side
| Factor | USDT (Tether) | USDC (Circle) |
|---|---|---|
| Dollar peg | Yes | Yes |
| Reputation | Largest, most liquid | Regulated, transparency-first |
| Strongest in | Global, emerging markets | US, developers, institutions |
| On BNB Smart Chain | Yes (BEP-20) | Yes (BEP-20) |
| Settlement | Seconds | Seconds |
| Fee on Sendbase | 0.2% + $0.20 | 0.2% + $0.20 |
How to decide
- Serving a global or emerging-market audience? Make sure you accept USDT; many customers hold it by default.
- US-focused, or want the most conservative treasury? Lean toward USDC.
- Not sure? Accept both and let the customer choose at checkout. It is the safest, lowest-friction option, and it costs you nothing extra.
With Sendbase you can turn on USDT, USDC, or both in the same checkout. Learn more about accepting USDT and USDC.
Accept USDT and USDC
Open a free, self-custodial account and let customers pay in whichever stablecoin they hold.