Cryptocurrencies have been attracting attention like a magnet for the past few years. And it is no wonder. After all, they are becoming safer, more accessible, and give freedom of action that traditional banking systems cannot provide.
You can see such a picture analyzing ChainBroker, an informative crypto news site. It contains crypto projects to watch. Recently, digital money has also become a popular way to pay for online transactions for purchases at businesses and online stores.
Accepting cryptocurrency payments offers several benefits for businesses, including lower transaction fees, availability, high speed, international payments, and security. If you are a business owner, accepting cryptocurrencies gives you a great competitive advantage, helps you expand your customer base, and therefore boosts your revenue.
But how to do it? To start accepting cryptocurrency payments, you should follow several simple steps. In this article, we’ll describe each of them in detail.
Why should I accept crypto payments?
If you’re a small business owner or an individual entrepreneur, you will probably want to accept payments in Bitcoin. Why? There are several reasons:
- Lower transaction fees than in traditional payment systems. The commission per transaction is usually 1%. This will help you save a lot of money.
- Availability. Anyone with access to the Internet can use cryptocurrency as a payment method.
- Speed. Typically, payments are processed in a few minutes, which is great news for those business owners who value time and are constantly in a hurry.
- The ability to make international payments. Cryptocurrencies allow you to make payments without the involvement of intermediaries and banks. This is quite convenient because you don’t have to pay a lot of money for international transfers and wait for a certain period of time, as is typically the case with traditional banking systems.
- Security. You don’t have to worry about your transactions being canceled or used by fraudsters because they are all registered in a blockchain that is securely protected.
Step-by-step instructions on how to accept crypto payments
So you are a business owner or an individual who has finally decided to accept payments for your products in cryptocurrency. But in this case, you have a question about how to do it. There are a few simple steps that we will discuss below.
Step 1: Learn what cryptocurrency is and how is it regulated
First, you need to have a clear understanding of what cryptocurrency means. At its core, it is a digital currency that exists only on the Internet. Created on blockchain technology, it is protected by cryptography, so it is impossible to hack it. And since it is considered decentralized, the country’s government cannot influence it. However, there are some nuances that are worth considering:
- Comply with cryptocurrency legislation. After all, by opening your own cryptocurrency account, which is necessary to work with payments, you become a potential investor.
- Make sure that the cryptocurrency platform is legal. Study the policy of your service provider’s website, paying attention to the countries that support cryptocurrency.
Step 2: Select the cryptocurrency you will accept
The market is full of cryptocurrencies that are designed for different needs: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and others. First, do in-depth research on the most popular and successful ones.
We recommend focusing on Bitcoin because it is widely used as a digital payment method and its popularity is growing exponentially.
Step 3: Creating and setting up a crypto wallet or crypto gateway
A cryptocurrency wallet is where cryptocurrencies are stored. Another of its functions is to receive and send digital money.
First, you need to choose the type of crypto wallet. There are several types:
- Hosted. It is accessible from anywhere and perfect for beginners as it does not require any special settings.
- Software (for self-storage). This option involves the installation of special software on a laptop, desktop, or smartphone. Its advantage is that it gives you more control over your account and is quite flexible in use.
- Hardware. It is a physical device that needs to be connected to your computer to conduct transactions. Since the cryptocurrency is stored offline, security is at the highest level here.
After you have selected a crypto wallet, make sure that it supports the cryptocurrencies you need. Also, be careful when picking a provider. Here are some of the most reliable and secure ones:
- CoinBase. It is known worldwide for its reliability and high level of security. Besides, it is very convenient for those who are just taking their first steps in the crypto industry.
- Exodus. This is a platform that is less secure but offers more flexible features.
- MyEtherWallet. If you have a startup and your budget has not yet reached a high level, this open-source platform is the perfect solution for you.
- MetaMask. It is the best option if you have chosen Ethereum.
So, you have selected a platform. Now you just need to create and set up your account. To do this, you will need to install special software.
As for a cryptocurrency payment gateway, its functions are similar to a cryptocurrency wallet. The only thing is that the functionality is somewhat broader, including the conversion of cryptocurrencies into US dollars, euros, and other fiat currencies. In order to accept payments from your customers, you need to integrate a payment gateway, that is, create an account, link your crypto wallet to it, and set up payment methods.
There are several popular crypto gateways:
- CoinBase Commerce. You can easily connect it to your CoinBase wallet. Another advantage is that it works well with Shopify and WooCommerce, e-commerce platforms that are very popular in the world.
- Coinspaid. You can deposit coins directly to your bank account, and the most commonly used currencies are US dollars, euros, and British pounds. Until then, the new one has over 30 payment options for cryptocurrencies.
- BitPay. It is good because it accepts 13 cryptocurrencies via email or the BitPay Checkout app.
Step 4: Add cryptocurrency to your site and display pay options
After you have created and set up a cryptogram, integrate it into your site and display it as a payment option. You can do this with HTML code or a special plugin or application.
Step 5: Track your transactions
Check your cryptocurrency transactions each time and look in the wallet regularly to make sure all payments come correctly.
Conclusion
As you can see, cryptocurrency thrives rapidly. More and more companies are accepting it as a way of payment for goods and services. If you decide to take this step, it is very important for you to know the basic nuances of its adoption that we discussed in the article.
