Including Crypto Payments In An Online Business – Yay or Nay?

Did you know that more than 30% of US-based small businesses accept crypto payments? Major companies such as Microsoft, Wikimedia, and The Pirate Bay just to name a few have started accepting payments in Bitcoin, too!

And, since we all know that cryptocurrency is le dernier cri, more and more online businesses are weighing the decision whether they should (or shouldn’t) accept crypto and leave traditional POS (point-of-sale systems) behind while more and more customers are actually paying for goods and services with crypto.

Lower fees are great, yet, since crypto is still a largely unregulated field, businesses also have to embrace security concerns that come along the way. So, is including crypto payments in an online business an amenity or nothing more than a bother?

Why Including Crypto Payments In An Online Business is a Bright Idea

According to the latest studies, the disparity between the percentage of customers that would want or prefer to pay in crypto and the percentage of online businesses that accept crypto payments is huge. In fact, there are almost 10 times more crypto-friendly customers than crypto-friendly online businesses.

Although this all seems like a pretty good incentive to start accepting digital coins, there is a myriad of other reasons why you should strongly consider this payment method if you are running an online business.

1) Customer Care

For starters, integrating crypto payments in online businesses gives off the impression that you cater to your customer’s needs and preferences. For the above-mentioned reasons, we can definitely say that customers are hungry for broader adoption of crypto payments.

This new type of payment indeed provides an added convenience for customers (needless to say, the ones that are already owning crypto) and higher protection of their data.

2) Lower Fees

Crypto-friendly online businesses successfully avoid unnecessary and operational costs and offer their customers the best value for money. How so? Well, credit card payments typically incur abnormal fees (up to 4% of the transaction total).

There is no such thing as crypto payments. Transaction fees are not entirely eliminated but rather reduced to a minimum – approximately 1% of the value of each transaction, and sometimes, potentially, even less.

3) Opening Up to Customers from Abroad

Crypto payments can open your product or service to an entirely new set of customers, people from all over the world. International buyers that can pay in Bitcoin (or any other cryptocurrency) can make your sales skyrocket within a matter of weeks.

By providing more flexibility in payment options, you will make sure no sales are lost since a limited choice of payment method is one of the top reasons for cart abandonment.

4) Protection from Illegal Chargebacks

If you are a business owner, you must have come across at least one fraudulent chargeback and have been put in a kind of, disadvantageous position.

Luckily, crypto payments protect merchants from these chargebacks. That’s because there are no intermediaries and third parties (centralized institutions) involved, and transactions are irreversible.

Are There Any Negatives to Including Crypto Payments In Online Businesses?

In fact, there are. Before you decide to take the leap and start accepting payments in crypto, you should consider some of the risks and barriers that will shlep along (technical ones, for example).

1) Lack of Crypto Know-How

As we said, crypto is becoming increasingly widespread. Regardless, some business owners find it hard to keep up with the blockchain technologies or they are completely unfamiliar with the blockchain ecosystem.

Creating an account on a crypto exchange or setting up a wallet can be bothersome for some people out there. However, taking the time to learn how to do so will most likely pay off.

2) Crypto Price Volatility

The value of digital assets is extremely volatile and unpredictable.

One day, Bitcoin is sitting around at $23,000, and, within just a couple of days, its value drops down to $18,000. It goes without saying that the price can climb from $18,000 to $23,000 in a matter of days as well.

If you want to ensure you are not at a loss, translate your cryptos into fiat money regularly. You can use a service that does this for you, or you can simply hold on to it and wait for the brighter days on the market to maximize your earnings.

3) Trouble with Regulations

Finally, the crypto market is still not governed, but, despite the hot debates on whether it should be regulated at all, from what we know, this will likely change in the near future.

And, even if and when the crypto market gets regulated, the regulation will have to be tweaked the more cryptocurrencies get adopted, which can include more paperwork and bring up some new challenges for businesses.

How to Start Accepting Crypto Payments As an Online Business?

If you do decide to accept the crypto payment method, you have two options to choose from:

• Collect crypto payments manually. Doing this leaves room for slip-ups, especially when knowing that pretty much everything related to crypto has a steep learning curve.
• Simply use a processor. This can speed up the process and minimize eventual mistakes. It will give you a lesser degree of control, but in most cases, it’ll be worth it.

Either overall method you choose, there’s still a small part that you’ll have to do manually regardless. That is adding this type of functionality to your website in order for payments to be processed and sent to your crypto account so that you can exchange them for fiat.

Note that you’ll also need to add crypto to your account books and figure out how to perform crypto-asset accounting.

Choosing a Crypto Exchange

You’ll also need to pick a crypto exchange, such as Binance, CEX, Kraken, or similar, and create an account to receive payments to.

Some exchanges, like the ones we’ve mentioned, offer additional services and products, such as buttons, plugins, and management dashboards so that you can customize the process. Doing so will allow you to cut any frills out of it, and ultimately, provide a better buying experience to your customers.

Summary

Integration of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies into the payment system can give any business a competitive advantage over businesses that still don’t get that we have entered a new era of transactions. You can position yourself as a forward-thinking business owner and an, still an early, adopter of the next generation of fintech.

To conclude – including crypto payments in an online business is a part of the digital shift and can help the owner achieve a new level of efficiency. And, sure thing, this efficiency can easily lead to increased profitability in the future.