TON Pay launches SDK to embed crypto payments inside Telegram

The TON Foundation has introduced TON Pay, a software development kit intended to make onchain payments a native part of Telegram’s Mini App ecosystem. Built as a single integration layer, the SDK is designed to let merchants and third-party developers accept multiple tokens through Telegram without forcing specific wallet solutions. The foundation positions technical design goals around rapid confirmations and ultra-low transaction costs, aiming for sub-second processing and average fees under one cent. Initial deployment focuses on in-app commerce inside Mini Apps, with roadmaps for web rollout and additional capabilities such as subscriptions and gasless flows. To manage regulatory and operational complexity, the project plans partnerships with local custody, compliance, and fiat-rail providers rather than centralizing those functions. Optional merchant features — analytics and MPC wallet integrations among them — are being developed to give businesses practical tools for settlement and operations. TON Pay arrives amid a broader industry push toward messaging platforms acting as multi-service hubs, where payments, commerce, and social features converge. The initiative directly challenges rival efforts to marry wallets, payments, and onchain apps by offering a plug-and-play payments layer attached to an established communications platform. Adoption risks include governance scrutiny over Telegram’s role, fraud vectors tied to fast, embedded commerce, and regional regulatory responses that might force feature constraints or stricter KYC. Technically, the product’s value hinges on delivering the promised latency and fee profile at scale while keeping integration overhead low for developers. If executed, TON Pay could materially lower merchant friction for crypto acceptance, but its ultimate reach will depend on compliance partnerships, token support breadth, and Telegram’s policy choices. The foundation’s approach balances decentralization rhetoric with pragmatic third-party integrations to address real-world payments requirements.