Businesses all over the world have stopped making fun of Bitcoin as an alternative form of payment. Today it is not only possible to spend Bitcoin at pretty much every store worldwide, but it is also much easier to integrate crypto payments as a merchant. With the public eagerly awaiting the next dip to buy Bitcoin, there are many opportunities that you can benefit from today from Accepting Bitcoins. This blog will help you to know what your business need to know about accepting bitcoin.
When it comes to business owners, Bitcoin offers several benefits. In this article, we will discuss them in further detail, while also touching upon important developments that you should keep in mind. Therefore, before slapping a Bitcoin sticker on the window of your shop, make sure you familiarize yourself with the following information.
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Accepting Bitcoins payment happen in two ways
Or, better yet, to accommodate two crowds – those that wish to receive Bitcoin for their products or services and those who prefer to receive US dollars for personal and/or accounting purposes.
The first way is aimed to serve the small group of merchants that are able and willing to accept Bitcoin payments for their services. These merchants will then store the Bitcoin in their private wallet and hold onto it. This group of people mainly consists of freelancers, local mom-and-pop shops, or small businesses that are willing to accommodate the new target audience.
The process of accepting Bitcoins this way is pretty simple. Whether you have a physical or digital store, all you need to do is give your customers the details of your bitcoin wallet (public address) as well as its QR code in case you want to offer fast mobile payments. The price of Bitcoin at that point is irrelevant, as merchants ask customers to pay the equivalent of FIAT currency value in the form of Bitcoin.
The second way, and one more commonly seen among e-commerce stores and service providers, is the ability to pay with crypto using specific payment widgets. Payment systems like Coinbase Commerce, BitPay, and others, allow customers to pay with crypto, while the merchant still receives FIAT currency. In other words, the payment widget acts like a middleman that exchanges crypto for FIAT at the point of purchase.
Large e-commerce builders like Shopify and Magento offer such plugins to easily embed within online stores, taking out all of the guesswork that comes with it. By doing this, merchants open up to a crypto-friendly audience while cryptocurrency holders are able to use their funds in a practical manner.
Taxes and fees tend to fluctuate
Since Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are considered to be a relatively new asset class, and with their market in price discovery, there is a lot of volatility in both their price tag and their legal status. We regularly see countries banning the use and transaction with cryptocurrencies on a temporary basis, while banks are able to limit or close accounts that are involved with trading without warnings.
This is obviously an important risk to consider if you are opting to receive bitcoin payments from customers (the first option described above). Merchants that choose to involve themselves into crypto-related payments will need to stay up to date with all national and international regulations around the world of cryptocurrency.
The introduction of crypto debit cards
One of the most recent developments seems to make cryptocurrency users even more bullish on the future of crypto payments. The introduction of cryptocurrency debit cards allows users to store their checking account with crypto which can then be spent on any store that has a POS machine.
Every store that accepts card payments will support payments from crypto debit cards.
At this moment we already see companies like Coinbase, Crypto.com, and Binance fighting to claim the top spot. Their cards will offer a wide range of practical uses for Bitcoin and other coins, all while offering favorable interest rates compared to the traditional banking system. Due to this, demand will increase and so will the cryptocurrency prices. Of course, we are still at an early stage of this new concept, but we believe it will be one of the most important stepping stones on our steep climb towards mainstream adoption.
Accepting Bitcoins; It’s Going Nowhere
Merchants that are still hesitant when it comes to cryptocurrency payments are missing the big picture. This is not simply a new investment opportunity or the latest gamble for the Millennial generation. Bitcoin and its underlying technology are completely changing the way we perceive money and are finally exposing all the faults of our current financial system.
Those that wish to survive and thrive in the future will certainly start exploring how the concept of cryptocurrencies can further strengthen their offer in the years to come. We recommend doing further research and becoming more familiar with the benefits of accepting cryptocurrency for your business.
