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While yes, the crypto crash of 2022 has knocked trillions from the total capitalisation of the digital assets market, it’s clear that mass adoption is on the up. Indeed, the number of active users of crypto around the world has doubled in the past year alone. According to the 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index, countries such as India, Vietnam and the Philippines are leading the way. With more users holding crypto, the demand for such payments has risen too. Merchants are now faced with the task of selecting the top crypto payment provider for their business. Should they choose wrongly, they risk extortionate fees, regulatory issues, reputational damages and security breaches. That’s why, today, we’ll be guiding you through some of our favourites.
Payment gateway for cryptocurrency: what’s the hype about?
Before we jump into the brands themselves, it’s important to take a look at some of the benefits you can expect as a merchant. Financial benefits take the top spot here. Firstly, whereas in the fiat world, one can expect fees amounting to up to 3.5% per transaction, merchant fees in the crypto world are much lower: 0.5 – 1% on average. There are also some stellar discount offers afoot, enabling merchants to lower their fees even further by paying them in native tokens, or by getting involved with cashback programs. As each transaction on the blockchain is final by default, chargebacks are non-existent. No chargebacks, no requirements for rolling reserves.
The globality of crypto gateway payments is also worth mentioning. Unlike the traditional banking world, all the users need in the digital asset industry is an internet connection and a compatible device. This means merchants are able to capitalise on a far greater audience than before. Not only are they able to move into new markets without the hassle of connecting local payment processors for each one, but they are able to increase their advertising potential too.
Then, we should talk about speed. Crypto payments are instant due to a lack of intermediary organs. When compared, PayPal’s ‘up to five working days for international transfers’ seems almost laughable. Increasing the speed of transactions improves the efficiency of the organisation and allows it to boost revenue. On the topic of efficiency, crypto payments are much more likely to be approved with overall higher acceptance rates. This means onboarding drop-off is minimised, and more conversions are attained.
The benefits are clearly immeasurable – it’s no surprise therefore that almost a quarter of all online businesses are looking to accept crypto payments by 2025. Let’s therefore take a look at their options in a bit more detail.
BitPay
BitPay is the traditional option. This cryptocurrency gateway has almost been around since the advent of digital assets themselves. Since 2011, the platform has been offering its clients the hands-off approach – this means that they are able to accept cryptocurrencies without keeping them on their books. All the benefits, none of the volatility risk. The service instantly converts crypto to fiat, and does this in 8 different currencies across 38 countries. Over the years, BitPay has adapted to suit a wide range of businesses, and supports a large number of plugins.
The only complaints from the community come from the lack of currencies available to choose from, and the chequered past of the service itself. We shouldn’t forget that in 2014, over $1.8 million dollars was extracted from the platform through a phishing endeavour. Moreover, in 2018, BitPay released a warning to its users about some infected code that was attempting to steal clients’ private keys.
Nevertheless, these were two isolated incidents, and the platform’s overall reputation is a good one. Also, at 1% on every transaction, the service’s fees are fair.
CryptoProcessing.com
CryptoProcessing by CoinsPaid currently holds the position of the leading Bitcoin payment provider, accounting for 8% of all BTC transactions in the world. Operating since 2014, the company has processed over 16 billion euros in crypto and served over 800 merchants across various industries.
Importantly, the service supports over 20 most popular digital assets besides BTC, including Ethereum, Tether, and Dogecoin. It also offers instant conversion into 40+ fiat currencies, including EUR and USD, while taking all the volatility risks upon itself. Thus, their clients don’t require any background in crypto and continue to operate as usual.
CryptoProcessing.com provides functionality for both regular and non-recurring payments and also supports multiple payment options, allowing customization to fit any business model. Indeed, clients can choose between invoices, payment links, channels, and plugins. Its multi-currency crypto wallet for businesses gives merchants the opportunity to make use of crypto payments, as well as trade and hold digital assets with no technical integration needed.
CryptoProcessing.com is one of the most price-competitive solutions on the market, as it doesn’t have any set-up and monthly fees. Instead, the service only charges a 0.8% transaction fee, which can be even further reduced by CryptoProcessing.com’s native token.
Aside from its ‘all-encompassing’ approach, the company provides round-the-clock tech support and assists in marketing activities to help businesses attack crypto traffic.
Coinbase
Coinbase Global, Inc., is an American publicly traded company, known for operating the cryptocurrency exchange platform ‘Coinbase’ with one of the best hot wallets in the industry. The company is almost as old as Bitpay, being founded in 2012, and is also known for its crypto gateway. As any quality payment gateway for cryptocurrency should, the hands-off approach is a prominent offering of Coinbase, allowing merchants to keep crypto away from their books. Products such as ‘auto convert and fee collection’ also help to streamline the onboarding process for merchants.
The fees are especially important when it comes to Coinbase, however. Indeed, transactions are fee-free for the first $1m USD. Only after that, a 1% fee is applied per transaction, which is still quite competitive. Coinbase is a sturdy option, especially for smaller companies, but be aware that the service operates in a limited number of regions and territories.
Crypto.com
Crypto.com, at first glance, might be a front runner for most. The service boasts 0.5% settlement fees with a huge set of plugins for e-commerce. Indeed, if you are operating an e-commerce business and a frequent user of platforms such as Shopify, Crypto.com is a quick and easy way of accepting payments in a wide range of cryptocurrencies.
However, the low fees do come at the cost of service – businesses operating in niche markets, requiring complex integrations and developer calls might find the ‘pop-up tent’ of Crypto.com a little lacking. The service is effective and cheap for small e-commerce businesses, but a little robotic elsewhere.
Regardless of which cryptocurrency payment provider you end up integrating, remember that the longer you wait to do so, the less of a niche you’ll have to work with. Right now, big brands are trailblazing into the digital assets industry, finding it cheaper and easier to climb the ranks on search engines. However, it’s not all doom and gloom if you do choose to wait a year or so – the benefits aforementioned such as increased speed, lower fees and cross-border possibilities will only be magnified as providers compete. Either way, make sure you’re in-tune with the benefits, and aware of those who can make them a reality for your business.
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Konstantin Rabin
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Francis Souza
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Alisa Dicaprio
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