How do I accept crypto payments on my website?

Accepting crypto payments on your website opens the door for new opportunities as your business grows. 

Many large companies are already accepting crypto payments, such as Microsoft, T-Mobile, Virgin Galactic, Tesla, and a series of fast food restaurants. Your company might as be accepting crypto payments, too, since it allows you to get access to an international audience. It will increase your customer base and let you cut out the intermediaries, such as banks, allowing for faster and error-free transactions.

Popular payment platforms like PayPal and Venmo also offer the ability for customers to pay in crypto, making integrating and accepting crypto payments quick and easy.

In this article, we will look at how and why your business should accept crypto payments.

Cryptocurrency payment processor

As crypto continues to grow rapidly, many large payment processors are now integrating these digital currencies into their payment systems. The number of crypto transactions surpassed 700 billion in 2020. With yearly crypto transactions continuing to grow, now is the best time to start accepting crypto payments on your website.

So how can your business accept and process crypto payments? There are a few different options.

First, you could build your own solution, but you would need to spend time and money developing smart contracts and payment logic to process the transactions. Many businesses don’t have the time or resources to do this, nor do you need to.

The second option is to use a crypto payment gateway. This is a popular way that businesses wanting to accept crypto payments choose. You will simply need to implement the already available integrations onto your website. This approach significantly reduces the time to make crypto payments available and has no upfront cost. There is also no need to worry about the liability of smart contract exploits since the payment processor takes care of those possible issues.

Finally, there is the omnichannel payment gateway, which is the most flexible and popular approach for businesses. Most companies need to accept all kinds of payments, including credit cards, bank transfers, and now cryptocurrencies.

Similarly to the crypto payment gateways, omnichannel gateway options are easy to integrate. Add the function to your site using a website builder with an easy-to-use module for payment processor integration.

How to choose a payment processor for your business?

Let’s go over the main things to look for when deciding what payment processor to pick. You want to look at a company’s credibility and longevity and how many other merchants are using its services. Are reputable brands and companies you trust using them?

The next thing to look at is the fees. One of the most appealing benefits of accepting crypto as a payment method is that you can enjoy much lower fees than what credit card and other fiat payment processors currently offer.

You should also be looking at what coins the payment processors accept. Most will support the more popular coins, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, but some will also offer additional coins. It is best to accept coins that are well established in the crypto arena, but you also want some variety, so customers can choose what crypto to buy and pay with.

Finally, it is also important to have a payment processor that functions smoothly and doesn’t deteriorate the customer experience on your website.

What companies are accepting cryptocurrency as payment?

As cryptocurrency continues to become a more mainstream way of payment, companies are implementing strategies to accept crypto in many capacities. 

Microsoft was an early adopter and was already accepting payments for many of its top products in Bitcoin back in 2014. They had a wide range of products available for purchase via Bitcoin, such as Windows 10 licenses, games, movies, and thousands of applications in both the Windows and the Xbox stores.

Shopify is a well-known e-commerce platform that allows merchants to sell products online. In 2015 they began accepting Bitcoin as a payment option. They also accept Ethereum and Litecoin.

AMC movie theaters began accepting crypto payments in November 2021. They accept many coins, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin. Not long after their announcement, crypto payments accounted for over 14% of their total online transactions.

The multinational group, The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts, accepts even more coins as payment. They accept 37 different coins when making bookings across the chain’s European and Asian locations.

Subway was the first adopter of crypto payments in the fast food industry. In many locations, you can purchase anything from the store in Bitcoin. They plan to extend their crypto payments to other coins as well. 

PayPal is another massive company that does payment processing with many forms of currency, including crypto. You can purchase and sell coins directly on the platform and also make crypto payments. Currently, nearly 30 million e-commerce stores accept PayPal, meaning all these stores can now accept crypto payments too.

Finally, NBA’s Dallas Mavericks have been taking crypto payments for over two years. Fans can buy game tickets and merchandise with Ethereum, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Gemini Dollar, and many other coins. This has created a large following of crypto fans for the Mavs and made the entire experience more fun and engaging.

These are just a few of the companies that are accepting cryptocurrency as payments. The list goes on, but these should give you a good overview of the diversity of businesses approving crypto payments. Every industry and every type of company is moving to a more digital landscape and is using crypto as a catalyst for this move.

Why should you accept crypto payments?

With companies in every industry, whether brick and mortar, online or hybrid stores, now accepting crypto payments, it’s obvious why your company should start accepting crypto too. But, just in case, we will go over some of the reasons why you should allow crypto payments on your e-commerce site.

First, the best thing you can do for your business is to introduce new customers. Unlocking the full potential of your business by going international will bring the entire world to your fingertips. Accepting crypto payments solves cross-border problems such as exchange rates and fees, allowing you to deal internationally with ease. It will also introduce a new customer base by attracting people that wouldn’t do business with you if your payment methods lacked this option. 

Second, accepting payments in crypto has lower fees than accepting other payments, such as credit or debit cards. There is even more to it - accepting payments directly in Bitcoin will cost you no fees at all.

Next, there are no more payment delays. Dealing with credit cards can take several days as the payments are processed and occasionally rejected. Crypto transactions are instant and have no approval process bypassing the bureaucracy of banks and credit card companies.

Integration is easier than ever. It is as simple as connecting PayPal or Visa payments and can be done in a matter of minutes.

There are no chargebacks with crypto - once a customer makes a purchase, that money is yours, and there is no threat of a chargeback due to a stolen credit card or suspicious activity. 

Cryptocurrency also offers security and anonymity as a payment method. The cryptography on the blockchain provides security that guarantees the protection of your funds and data. Since it is anonymous, it spares you from providing any documents or proof of identity as you would have to with fiat money. As such, dealing with crypto saves your time and protects your data from fraud.

Payment security also allows for a more thorough accounting process, as transactions made with crypto are anonymous but trackable. You can use the transaction hash to locate payments to ensure a proper ledger when accounting, which helps drastically reduce human error.

So now the question is, why NOT accept crypto payments? It can be easily added or removed from your website and greatly benefit your company. You can find modules to help integrate international payments with all types of currencies on PrestaShop Addons Marketplace.

Can I receive crypto payments on PayPal?

The short answer to whether you can receive crypto payments on PayPay is yes. However, there is a caveat. The customer can purchase using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others, but the merchant receives fiat currency instead of crypto.

PayPal converts the cryptocurrency into USD, and the US dollar is then used to make the purchase. So while customers are paying in crypto, the business will NOT receive crypto but rather the USD equivalent of the purchase price. If you wish to reach a broad audience of worldwide crypto users without dealing with the volatility of cryptos, then PayPal is a great option.