The TON Foundation launched TON Pay, a payments SDK that integrates cryptocurrency payments into Telegram’s Mini Apps, offering merchants lower fees and faster transaction times. The project leverages Telegram’s large active user base and aims to comply with SEC regulations.
TON Pay is an SDK that allows Telegram Mini Apps to accept TON and other TON-compatible assets without requiring a Telegram-controlled wallet. The integration is based on TON Connect, the protocol that enables Mini Apps to interact with wallets and various assets. Furthermore, the SDK is designed to streamline wallet management, settlement, and payment flows.
One of the key advantages of TON Pay is its ability to process transactions in under a second. The company’s fees are below $0.01, making it an ideal opportunity for merchants to reduce their operating costs. Additionally, it features a simplified, one-step payment flow, perfect for use within Telegram Mini Apps.
TON Foundation and a presentation within the framework of the SEC
The TON Foundation is positioning TON Pay to address regulatory and institutional requirements through partnerships and optional tools. The SDK will be complemented by MPC wallet options for merchants, relationships with regulated custodians, AML/KYC compliance providers, and region-specific inbound and outbound fiat on-ramps to facilitate local conversions and oversight.
The company framed these design decisions as a response to past regulatory frictions, including a previous settlement with the SEC that halted Telegram’s earlier TON launch. TON Pay also arrives amid other platforms moving toward integrated payments within messaging apps and marketplaces.
For merchants and product teams, TON Pay promises lower transaction costs and faster settlement compared to card networks and many existing blockchains; for compliance teams, the emphasis on custody partnerships, MPC, and localized on-ramps indicates a deliberate effort to operate within regulatory frameworks.
Looking ahead, the TON Foundation projects that integrating payments into Telegram could substantially scale mobile crypto commerce. The SDK’s developers suggest it could help process millions of daily transactions and reach more than 10 million daily users by 2027.
