Blockchain-Based Payment Settlement in Furniture Supply Chain

Sector: Secondary sector · Industry: Furniture manufacturing · Organisation: IKEA Island mit Tradeshift und Monerium (Nordic Store) · Maturity level: Production

IKEA uses the Ethereum blockchain together with partners Tradeshift and Monerium to process payments in the supply chain digitally and programmatically. Digital e-money replaces traditional bank transactions and enables transparent, tamper-proof invoice settlement between suppliers. This approach serves as a pilot project for the broader mainstream adoption of programmable digital money in global trade.

Documentation status

Project status: Production
Evidence: Evidence high
Editorial review: Ufuk Avci, 12 July 2026

Description

IKEA has successfully processed a supply chain transaction via the Ethereum blockchain, using digital e-money from the provider Monerium as the means of payment. The Tradeshift platform served as the connecting element between the inventory management system and the blockchain payment infrastructure. The project aims to make payments to suppliers faster, cheaper and more transparent by replacing traditional banking processes with programmable digital payments. Monerium is the only regulatorily authorised provider of blockchain e-money in Europe, ensuring the project's legal security.

IKEA, one of the world's largest furniture and home furnishing companies with a global network of over 1,600 suppliers in more than 50 countries, has taken an important step in digitising its supply chain financing. In cooperation with the supply chain finance platform Tradeshift and the e-money specialist Monerium, a payment transaction was successfully conducted via the Ethereum blockchain. Programmable digital e-money in Icelandic króna was used as the means of payment, acting as the digital equivalent of the national currency and fully regulated. Monerium is the first and so far only provider authorised by the relevant authorities to issue e-money on a public blockchain, giving the project special legal legitimacy. The project demonstrates the potential of programmable money to automate and accelerate manual and time-consuming payment processes in complex global supply chains. Tradeshift sees this pilot project as a pioneering step towards the global mainstream adoption of blockchain-based e-money in international trade.

Perspectives

B2B — organisations perspective

For companies with complex, international supply chains, this approach offers the possibility to process payments to suppliers directly and programmatically without traditional bank intermediaries. This can increase payment speed, reduce transaction costs and improve transparency throughout the payment flow.

Employees perspective

Employees in finance, accounting and purchasing departments are directly affected by the introduction of such systems, as manual invoice processing is increasingly automated. At the same time, new requirements arise for digital skills in handling blockchain platforms and programmable money.

Benefits

General

Faster payment processing in the supply chain by eliminating traditional bank intermediaries.
Greater transparency and traceability of all payment transactions thanks to immutable blockchain records.
Legally secure use of regulated digital e-money for cross-border transactions.

B2B — organisations

Reduction of transaction costs and processing times for international supplier payments.
Automated, rule-based payment initiation via smart contracts reduces manual effort.
Improvement of liquidity for suppliers through faster payment cycles.

Employees

Relief from repetitive, manual tasks in invoice processing and payment transactions.
Opportunity to build new digital skills in blockchain and programmable payments.

Challenges

General

Integrating blockchain payment systems into existing ERP and inventory management systems is technically complex and resource-intensive.
The regulatory landscape for digital e-money is still developing in many countries and may bring uncertainties for international rollouts.
Acceptance and technical integration on the supplier side require training and support, especially for smaller suppliers.

B2B — organisations

Dependence on specialised platform partners such as Tradeshift and Monerium creates vendor lock-in risks.
Scaling the pilot project to the entire global supplier network presents significant operational and technical challenges.

Employees

Employees must learn new digital processes and tools, which requires training effort and willingness to change.

Technology foundation

The use case is based on the Ethereum blockchain combined with programmable digital money (E-Money) from the provider Monerium as well as the supply chain finance platform Tradeshift. Ethereum is suitable for this use case because the platform supports smart contracts, which enable automated and rule-based payment initiation without the need for traditional banking intermediaries. Monerium is the first and only regulatorily authorised provider of blockchain-based e-money within the European legal framework, making the solution legally secure.

Implementation examples

IKEA Ethereum Payment Transaction with Monerium and Tradeshift

IKEA operates one of the most complex supply chains in the world with over 1,600 suppliers in more than 50 countries. International payments via traditional banking structures involve high fees, long processing times and a lack of transparency, which strains suppliers’ liquidity and increases administrative effort.

IKEA successfully processed a supply chain payment transaction via the Ethereum blockchain, using digital e-money in Icelandic króna from Monerium as the means of payment and Tradeshift as the supply chain finance platform. This marked one of the first verified uses of regulated blockchain e-money in the real supply chain context of a global retail corporation.

IKEA, in collaboration with Tradeshift, a leading supply chain finance platform, and Monerium, the first and only regulatorily authorised provider of e-money on a public blockchain, conducted a live transaction over the Ethereum blockchain. The payment was made in digital e-money pegged to the Icelandic króna and regarded as a fully regulated digital equivalent of the national currency. Tradeshift acted as the connecting infrastructure between IKEA’s procurement system and the blockchain payment layer. The project demonstrates the technical and regulatory feasibility of programmable payments in real, global supply chain processes and is considered within the industry as a pioneering proof of the practical viability of this technology. Tradeshift sees this pilot project as the foundation for global mainstream adoption of blockchain-based e-money in international trade.

The use of programmable digital e-money on the Ethereum blockchain addresses the challenges of slow and costly cross-border bank transactions as well as the lack of real-time transparency in the payment flow between IKEA and its suppliers.

Blockchain-Based Payment Settlement in Furniture Supply Chain

Documentation status

Description

Perspectives

B2B — organisations perspective

Employees perspective

Benefits

General

B2B — organisations

Employees

Challenges

General

B2B — organisations

Employees

Technology foundation

Implementation examples

IKEA Ethereum Payment Transaction with Monerium and Tradeshift

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