Should your small business accept cryptocurrency?
Credit: Unsplash
Some challenges and controversies surround the use of crypto. However, many small business owners are embracing digital coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum for transactions. One of the reasons is that using innovative technology is the smartest way to stand out among other companies in the marketplace.
Crypto is a new way small businesses can take payments from clients and pay vendors. You may still wonder whether you should accept cryptocurrency as a payment method. In this case, it will depend on your business requirements, but generally, cryptocurrency is beneficial for many reasons.
Advantages of accepting cryptocurrency into your business
The best way to join the crypto craze is to begin accepting payments from Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. We will explain how to do that, but let’s start with the advantages of accepting digital coins for your products or services.
It doesn’t drastically change the number of payments to take
One of the first things to note is that when you accept crypto., it’s unlikely that it will drastically change the number of payments you get via cash, debit, or credit cards. Most individual cryptocurrency holders treat digital coins like assets. Surprisingly, many people aren’t spending their digital coins. If you are worried about having too much income shift over to cryptocurrency, it is highly unlikely that will occur. You will see cryptocurrency purchases slowly dribble into your company.
Allowing clients to pay with digital coins adds flexibility and might increase sales
Whenever individuals have several ways to pay, they will likely make a purchase. For instance, if an individual is browsing your site and comes across the products they need. The products might be too costly to purchase using their bank account; they might realize that you accept crypto and make a purchase. That’s because they have enough Bitcoin for the transaction.
Since many people are investing in crypto, accepting different digital coins offers you access to people’s purchasing power. Besides, the USD is always losing value due to inflation. So, accepting crypto payments will help you a few bucks.
Cryptocurrency payments have low transaction fees
With cryptocurrency, there are no financial middlemen. That means fewer individuals are taking a cut whenever you receive a payment. The credit card charges range from 1.5% to 3.5%, plus the cut a processor takes. These charges add up fast. Accepting cryptocurrency can avoid costly credit card processing charges on some of the transactions. There are many trading platforms that offer a stable 1 USDT to USD exchange rates.
Avoid chargebacks
A cryptocurrency transaction is final since there is no centralized arbiter of payments. So, people who pay via digital coins cannot issue chargebacks. They must consult you for any refund, and this eliminates the fear of fraudulent chargebacks.
Allows access to global markets
Most companies fear extending their services to various global markets due to transaction fees for global payments and fraud rates. With digital coins, you don’t have to worry about any of that. Currently, crypto is used in 56 countries, so accepting crypto allows you to scale your business into the international markets.
Attraction of new clients
Digital currencies can assist you attract new clients and offer your business a state-of-the-art image. Many people are getting into the crypto market space. Small businesses can always get ahead of the competition by embracing blockchain technology. Accepting cryptocurrency can help your small business reach clients who are searching for new ways to use their money.
How to accept crypto payments
In many cases, accepting crypto is a good idea. Factors like lower fees than debit and credit cards, the inability to reverse the funds, and real-time bank balance make the acceptance a perfect idea. Here’s how to get started:
Create a merchant wallet account
Creating a merchant wallet that offers a customizable portal and changes crypto to the base currency only takes a few minutes. Some wallets accept Bitcoin only, and others accept several types of crypto. Know the kind of currency your wallet accepts before telling your clients what types of payments you accept.
Integrate the crypto options into the point-of-sale
Since you have a merchant wallet account and a public address, the next step is to incorporate the address into all your points of sale. Note that your physical POS systems should have an app to create a QR code that clients can scan to send crypto.
With the app, you can easily accept and manage client payments. Don’t forget to add a crypto payment option to the online shopping cart. Your physical and digital invoices can accept crypto as well. You can integrate your public address or QR code on all invoices, and clients can send digital coins through your QR code.
Link transactions with account software
Small business owners are always confused about how crypto relates to taxes. Adhering to tax laws can be tough, and you must treat the method as a transaction. Many merchant wallets convert crypto to cash. The simplest way to accept crypto is to use POS systems incorporating cryptocurrency into the payment system. Some common POS systems that allow small businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments include Stripe, Square, and PayPal.
The best thing about using such a system is that you can run the transactions via one central platform. Even though it’s possible to accept digital payments using other systems, it’s easy to aggregate the payments in a single place. If you currently use any of those processors, ask them about accepting crypto.
Endnote
In many cases, small business owners can benefit from accepting crypto. There are benefits and drawbacks; it involves a simple process, and the downsides are minimal. That is due to the merchant wallets and the automatic conversion of crypto to cash. Start learning about cryptocurrencies to ensure your business stays competitive, get new clients, and increase sales. This is the time to embrace the advancements in fintech with open arms. The industry is ripping, and many people are taking advantage of crypto’s benefits. It’s your choice, but cryptocurrency isn’t going anywhere.
