Crypto payment solution was associated with science fiction a few years ago. As a result, investors are now able to pay with crypto as well as accept crypto payments.
Those who will benefit from this guide on implementing crypto payment solutions are:
- Merchants considering accepting cryptocurrency payments
- Platforms and companies are seeking omni-channel crypto payment solutions.
Cryptocurrencies are decentralized and encrypted means of digital exchange. In the case of cryptocurrency transactions, no authority manages and maintains the value of the currency. Worldwide, a multitude of cryptocurrency users and miners perform these tasks.
The benefits of supporting crypto payment solutions
The investment potential of cryptocurrency
Among the main benefits of cryptocurrencies are the following:
- There are no clearing authorities involved in cryptographic operations.
- Cryptographic protection of crypto is assured by blockchain technology and distributed ledger technology.
- Cryptocurrencies can also be profitable investment vehicles when conventional currencies are under pressure from inflation.
Is there a reason why all merchants don’t switch to crypto? The reason for this is the high volatility of crypto.
Are stablecoins immune to volatility?
The cryptocurrency market (or crypto market) was always considered a very volatile and risky environment by many people. Historically, cryptocurrencies have been high-risk investments. However, several companies have introduced stablecoins tied to one currency, namely the US dollar, in recent years. USDC (the US dollar coin), BUSD (the Binance USD), USDT (the Tether), and PAX (the Paxos standard token) are examples of stablecoins. Worldcoinindex makes it easy to find them. The currency rate of these coins is pegged to the US dollar. Because of this, they do not experience significant price fluctuations, unlike more famous cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether.
This led to several companies offering saving accounts and other investments denominated in stablecoins. You can earn up to 16% annual interest on these accounts.
Considering the current financial situation, many people are considering using stablecoins instead of US dollars to save. Even conventional currencies are accepted by some of these companies, such as US dollars or euros, and they still offer 8% or more yearly returns.
Mechanisms for protecting cryptocurrencies
The inventor of cryptocurrency, Satoshi Nakamoto, described it as an electronic payment system formed on cryptographic evidence as opposed to faith. All transactions completed by each user are recorded in a blockchain, which is an encrypted thread or log. This mechanism protects cryptocurrency assets through strong cryptography.
Options for cryptocurrency payments
What is the best way to accept payments done with cryptocurrency in a business model? This is a question that is increasingly being asked by online businesses. Choosing the perfect type of payment gateway solution to accept cryptocurrency for your business is essential to accepting and processing crypto payments. The options are endless, from custom solutions to open-source products such as open-source gateways to omni-channel payment gateway platforms. There are always pros and cons to every scenario. From a conceptual standpoint, there are three primary options.
Building crypto payment solutions from scratch
This particular approach will be challenging but the most flexible for any business.
To do this, you will have to write your type of custom logic to be able to accept any payments. Besides that, there is also the need to support smart contracts to start implementing transaction processing on a blockchain. However, using your type of payment solution will allow you to save on large transaction fees. Yet, the complex development of a custom logic can discourage a lot of businesses from deciding to go with this option.
Using third-party cryptocurrency payment solutions
In a third-party scenario, you will be able to integrate your platform using a crypto payment gateway using an API. If you choose this course of action, you will give the blockchain permission to work through a third party. This will reduce the time market and will not have any upfront costs.
Using crypto-friendly omni-channel payment solutions
Businesses that are only able to accept cryptocurrencies are hard to find. Most other businesses have to accept other currency-based forms for payments. These include bank payments, credit cards, and in-app and mobile payments. In-app and mobile payments mainly involve a type of digital wallets like ApplePay, GooglePay, and PayPal.
Platform implementation of cryptocurrency payment solutions
In the market, there are numerous solutions for cryptocurrency payment gateways. In contrast, most of them are designed for merchants rather than for Saas or PayFacs platforms. For this reason, you should be careful when selecting a payment gateway that accepts crypto payments for your platform. Otherwise, you may select a solution that isn’t optimized for your particular operational model. Because of this, the business could end up with some major issues down the road.
The merchant-centric scenario
Phases of the conceptual process are outlined below.
- Choose the most suitable crypto payment gateway provider after researching the best solutions available.
- This provider must perform KYC procedures. The forms and documents you have to submit as a merchant are mandatory. As a result, these documents are similar to those you submitted when you signed up for credit card processing.
- After background verification, your e-commerce website must be integrated with the crypto gateway platform. There are two paths you can follow to accomplish this.
- There are some ready-made plugins that you can use to integrate the platform.
- Custom API integrations can be developed. Some development effort will be required for this option.
- Reports and statements will be accessible only through the crypto payment gateway.
Platform-centric scenario
The above scenario works well for businesses that require only one merchant account. Platforms such as PayFac or SaaS (in our case, shopping carts) service a customer portfolio.
The implementation of a similar scenario may be challenging for such a platform. A platform needs to be capable of managing the whole portfolio of merchants at the same time.
The platform must provide merchants with an easy-to-use interface. Underwriting, payment reconciliation, and merchant statement generation are essential.
Our experts can answer any questions you may have regarding Crypto Payment Solutions.