In order to process payments with digital currencies in the new age, people are now turning to cryptocurrency payment gateways. These gateways act in a similar manner to other payment processors, gateways and credit cards from banks but they allow people to accept digital payments that are incoming and allow people to receive fiat currencies instantaneously in trades.
Digital currency payment gateways have not become a mandatory method for transactions at present, but are becoming increasingly common, with companies implementing them in a push to discourage people from having any reservations or uncertainty around them, and allowing for an additional payment method. Interestingly, businesses will often let people use their own personal crypto wallets to accept payments where, in taking payments, the gateways take on the additional burden of exchanging the cryptocurrencies and managing a wallet that is out of your hands.
How do payment gateways operate?
Because Blockchain was designed to decrease the cost of tranaIn order to facilitate a transaction between a merchant and a potential customer, a payment gateway operates as a company that takes on the risks involved with payments made using cryptocurrencies through the use of their own wallet(s).
sactions, while improving their overall security, the area of e-commerce has considered the use of Blockchain to be disruptive. Even Amazon, Walmart, and Alibaba are experimenting with Blockchain – it isn’t only for startups! In recent history, Alibaba have actually even gone as far as to file a patent for a new payment system that implements Blockchain technology, and was designed in March of 2020.
What is the process for payments?
Step 1: A customer decides to pay or part pay for a purchase using crypto on checkout using the payment portals available on the website, app, or in store.
Step 2: The customer pays an amount equivalent to the value of the transaction, calculated using the digital currency’s fair market value, when processing the transaction
Step 3: The chosen currency is automatically and instantly converted through the crypto payment service using the currency chosen by the customer for conversion
Step 4: The provider moves the money to the designated bank account in intervals agreed upon within the service contract.
When this happens, it occurs in a transparent manner, so that customers don’t have to worry about it and only the chosen cryptocurrency providers move the correct funds in the designated accounts.
Note: Make sure you check any local or national regulations regarding Cryptocurrencies before creating an account on a crypto gateway, because gateways can operate internationally, and the laws regarding them are often still being developed and can be varied or changed quickly! It is best practice that in order to keep your crypto safe, you keep informed of any laws regarding international crypto gateways that you deal with!
Fees
Pipezi use our own Cryptocurrency wallet to facilitate transfers within our network and various affiliated portals. We charge a standard fee on top of any transaction plus a maximum of 1.5% on top of any transactions. These fees are charged by our network’s transaction validators.
In order for us to verify transactions accurately, it is important for us to have transaction validators. These people verify our blockchain, and blocks on the blockchain – and are paid for the use of their energy consumption, and extremely powerful computers needed in order to do this accurately. In doing business, our service fees are charged to you, so that we can continue operating our business successfully, and keep our services running.
Pros and Cons of Payment Gateways
Cryptocurrencies were created to be decentralised and allow for anonymous payments between two parties – and the system presently makes this quite easy, however, not all merchants are comfortable taking payments in crypto because not all of them know how it works – and some are even sceptical about it.
In considering if crypto is right for you, it is crucial to know all of the positives and negatives around these payment gateways, to make an informed decision on how you might be comfortable accepting digital currencies or payments.
Positives
- Payment gateways are less volatile – When paying for something at the current market rate of a token, you are less likely to lose value waiting for a transaction to be verified by a cryptocurrency network.
- Funds are deposited to the designated account directly by your provider.
- There is less need to try to understand how cryptocurrencies operate, because the process is simplified!
- Payments can be processed internationally, with whichever cryptocurrencies a provider will accept
- Payment gateway providers act as a point of contact where a payment issue may arise; and
- Payment gateways also remove the anonymity of how, and to who you transfer digital currencies.
Negatives
- A payment gateway is a company providing services, which means that they have a tendency to market themselves in a way that comes across as though you need them more than you do – because you don’t always! For those who are very tech savvy, you can often manage your own wallet and transactions with ease.
- Relying on a payment gateway means relying on them to provide a service which is never uninterrupted. Unfortunately, this isn’t always practical, especially when dealing with overseas/international companies, that operate in different time zones.
- In considering the above, you also have to consider the possibility that a payment gateway is still a digital medium, and therefore can still be backed. If this happens, you may lose any funds you have in your account with them, while you wait for them to be transferred
- Payment gateways operate as third parties. This is a bit paradoxical, because cryptocurrency was actually created to bypass the need for third parties; and
- Because they act as third parties, they charge a small transaction fee for using your wallet, which means you pay slightly more by using a payment gateway then you would if you were managing your own wallet
Conclusion
While cryptocurrency payment gateways contradict one of the general reasons crypto was created – by adding a third party to the transactions, there are still a lot of positives to using them in general. Fortunately, the crypto industry is relatively new, and while some people may not embrace the changes that come with it, a lot of others are seeing the positives that are coming out of it and are benefiting significantly from being a part of the new digital era.
Crypto is moving forward an at expeditious rate and gaining a lot of trust world-wide. Interestingly, while a lot of developed countries have, in recent history, moved away from cash and started using credit/debit systems as the primary method for financial operations, some developed countries have even been noted to have invested in various cryptos through their governments! This move away from physical money really highlights a positive future for crypto.
As previously mentioned, it isn’t mandatory to use a crypto payment gateway, and it isn’t even strictly necessary – you can do it all using your own wallet, as long as you are a keen learner! That said, these systems are really good for alleviating any confusion, anxieties, incorrect information, or speculation that may arise around unregulated and decentralised sources of value.
Here at Pipezi, we have designed our services around small businesses, to allow business owners who may have reservations around accepting crypto to get ino n this new market, in a way that is easy to do, where we look after everything for you!
How can I accept payments with Crypto?
Easily! Talk to our experts about setting up a crypto wallet. We can happily run you through our system, and we have plenty of videos available on our website which demonstrate how easy it is to use our system!
