Accepting bitcoin payments will require paying fewer fees than credit card payments. However, there is a higher learning curve for accepting cryptocurrency, and it requires a bit of patience to set up. Bitcoin is a decentralized payment method, which means if there’s an error, you will not be able to call anyone to resolve it.

To start, you’ll need to decide whether you want to use a processor to accept payments or you want to accept them manually. Using a processor will simplify the process; you’ll need to register with a company like BitPay or PayPal to start accepting payments. Cryptocurrency is a digital medium of exchange that relies on peer-to-peer blockchain technology; as such, it’s decentralized in nature. In other words, no central bank or government regulates or backs crypto. Buyers transfer funds directly to sellers without the third parties traditionally used to process payments. Anna is a retail expert writer for Fit Small Business, contributing to our POS and payments sections.

As such, it should be no surprise that many of the world’s largest companies have begun accepting cryptocurrencies as payment for goods and services. Companies as varied as AT&T, the Dallas Mavericks, Microsoft, Overstock, Tesla and Twitch all accept Bitcoin and other digital currencies in 2021. Because Bitcoin is so volatile, some business owners like to exchange their Bitcoin for cash shortly after it’s received. Others hold on to their Bitcoin, in the hopes its value will continue to climb. Believe it or not, these strategies will impact what kind of technology you want to employ for receiving and managing cryptocurrency.

The reasons crypto is right for your business model

For example, while both WordPress and Shopify come with built-in integration for cryptocurrency payments, Shopify has an easier step-by-step guided setup process compared to WordPress. Crypto payment gateways function similarly to crypto wallets, but with added functionality. Although cryptocurrency owners can trade it for goods and services, crypto is often treated as an investment opportunity.

Capital gains are profits you make by selling property or investments that have risen in value. If you hold the cryptocurrency longer than a year, then the tax rate is generally lower than if you sell it right away. Most wallets also provide you with a QR-code version of your Bitcoin address. If you’re in the same room as the sender, the sender can scan your QR code to get your address. To receive bitcoin, simply provide the sender with your Bitcoin address, which you can find in your Bitcoin wallet. BitPay accepts 14 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Lightning, Ethereum, and Dogecoin settled in USD.

How can cryptocurrency be bad for my business?

If you’d like to learn more about accepting payments in your website, you can download our free ebook on Digital Wallets and Alternative Payments below. While Bitcoin Cash is very similar to Bitcoin, there’s notable differences that set them apart. Bitcoin Cash allows for more transactions to be processed by increasing the size of the blocks. By increasing the number of transactions Bitcoin Cash hopes to be able to compete with the industry giants like Visa and PayPal.

The company offers various tools to make accepting crypto payments simple, including hosted checkout, payment buttons, invoicing and Quickbooks and Shopify integrations. Payments can be made by customers online, by email and in person. Another neat feature offered from BitPay is that it protects businesses from crypto price fluctuations. The company only charges a 1% transaction fee on almost all transactions and allows clients to settle up in local currency cryptocurrency. Once you understand the crypto regulations in your area and have an accounting plan to track these payments, accepting cryptocurrency can be seamless to set up. Learn more about the best payment gateways for small businesses.

Pros & Cons of Accepting Bitcoin & Other Crypto Payments

Hackers can find ways to get into crypto wallets and take the currency found there. This can be a huge problem for a business that relies heavily on cryptocurrency to run, especially since no laws appoint anyone to help get your https://xcritical.com/ stolen funds back. In many cases, a website may be able to use a plugin from a payment processor for cryptocurrency. By adding the plugin to your page, you may easily be able to start accepting payments on your website.

The allure of overnight riches can outshine the fact that Bitcoin was first used in an everyday transaction — to buy a pizza. Today, even the tastiest slice won’t come close to the 10,000 Bitcoins that order cost in 2010 — an amount now worth more than half a billion dollars. Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page.

Sending and Receiving a Payment

Besides the monetary gains, permitting crypto also opens your business to a wealthier consumer pool and buyers who may not have considered your company before. Crypto allows for a level of anonymity and privacy that other payment forms do not. Newer, more private consumers will appreciate your business’s steps to secure their privacy. Accepting crypto shows your consumers that you care about their security and yours. The additional security and finality of digital coins also provide assurances for businesses providing subscriptions or other services in a techno-focused era. Cryptocurrencies exist within the blockchain — a decentralized, distributed digital ledger.

You can still use your crypto with almost any brand through gift cards or the BitPay Card. If you accept them as a business owner, you’ll want to make sure you are converting your payment to U.S. dollars quickly or holding the crypto as part of a long-term investment plan. These payment gateways can convert your crypto payments to how to accept cryptocurrency cash automatically. The crypto market is developing constantly, and many businesses are already accepting cryptocurrency as a payment. This payment method allows you to significantly increase your sales, attract potential customers, and also outperform the competitors. Bitcoin payments are as easy as regular credit card payments.

Why It’s Time For Your Business To Accept Crypto Payments

Ethereum smart contracts support a variety of distributed apps across the crypto ecosystem. To make a payment using cryptocurrency, you’ll also need to have a wallet application. Wallets can be installed on your computer or mobile devices, and act as an interface for accessing your crypto. Most cloud-based accounting packages aren’t set up to handle Bitcoin transactions. This will make bookkeeping more challenging, especially if you’re regularly converting from dollar to Bitcoin and vice versa. Unlike standard credit and debit cards, consumers can’t contact Bitcoin to have a transaction reversed.

If you’re going to accept Bitcoin in your small business, you might want to add these other cryptocurrencies to the list of payment options. Depending on your digital wallet, accepting Bitcoin on your website could be as easy as enabling a plug-in. When customers get to the payment portion of the check-out process, they’ll see an option to pay in Bitcoin. Bitcoin is perhaps the best-known type of decentralized cryptocurrency. Not long ago, many considered it more of a joke than an investment.

Benefits of accepting cryptocurrency

In June 2021, global crypto adoption soared over 880% compared to last year. We may earn affiliate commissions from buying links on this site. Compared to traditional point-of-sale systems, cryptocurrencies offer several primary benefits that you may want to consider. Many popular solutions, like Coinbase and BitPay, have both wallet and gateway functionality. Meaghan has provided content and guidance for indie retailers as the editor for a number of retail publications and a speaker at trade shows.

• Whether a high-end, established retailer or a small, young business, it is time to use cryptocurrency, permitting it as a payment option.
• It usually depends on the type of customer you have and whether they are willing to use cryptocurrency at all.
• The customer scans the QR code; their personal crypto wallet reads the virtual address where it should send the payment.
• There are thousands of cryptocurrencies, but most crypto payments tools only accept a subset of them.
• Believe it or not, these strategies will impact what kind of technology you want to employ for receiving and managing cryptocurrency.

While bitcoin transactions are usually instant, sometimes they can take time to confirm and reach the sender, depending on the network activity. However, once payment is initiated through the network, it cannot be reversed. Credit card payments, on the other hand, are processed immediately, but customers are able to dispute payments after they’ve been processed. Some brick-and-mortar retailers and stores are beginning to accept cryptocurrency as well. Those who do will generally use point-of-sale hardware linked to one of the payment service providers.

Growing a Business

Protect your recovery seed with this virtually indestructible titanium backup. Its number punch system lets you easily record up to 24 recovery words to back up your cryptocurrency hardware wallet in five minutes and HODL in peace forever. Please note that the availability of the products and services on the Crypto.com App is subject to jurisdictional limitations. Crypto.com may not offer certain products, features and/or services on the Crypto.com App in certain jurisdictions due to potential or actual regulatory restrictions. Settlement is done in local currency to remove volatility risk and automatically transferred to your bank account. Accept cryptocurrency in your physical stores directly with your mobile devices and POS machines and attract new consumers.

Learn when accepting cryptocurrency makes sense in restaurants – and when it doesn’t.

Your wallet doesn’t actually store crypto; it holds the keys you need to access them—these are your private keys. Your wallet has a public key that is used in transactions; it acts like an email address that that’s used to send and receive payments. Before you start spending crypto, you have to get some—but what if there’s no Bitcoin ATM nearby?

Crypto.com accepts over 20 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin. The merchant can choose to receive the payment in crypto or in dollars. If you choose to hold Bitcoin, the payments you accept could potentially become more valuable over time.

Setting up bitcoin payments in your online store could be as simple as downloading a plug-in or app on your e-commerce platform. If this option is not available to you, you can integrate payments with HTML code from your wallet . Speak to an accountant so you understand the tax implications of accepting bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, as regulations vary by state and country. Regulations may change how you plan to record bitcoin payments in your overall accounting systems.