Cryptocurrencies are the newest addition to the global currency market, as Bitcoin was created over a decade ago. While Bitcoin took several years to gain even a semblance of acceptance among consumers, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are becoming more popular by the year.
Put simply, currencies are stores of value that are widely recognized by consumers and businesses. Often taking the form of bank notes and coins, currencies themselves aren’t worth anything. It’s the products and services you can trade for them that creates value.
Unlike their fiat counterparts, cryptocurrencies have widely been used as investment vehicles. Although they’re still being used as such, more people are using them as true currencies.
As an online business owner, you may have been approached by prospective customers who inquired about whether your business accepts Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and other cryptocurrency payments. Forced to turn them down, you’ve since decided to open up your e-commerce store’s methods of payment to include cryptocurrency.
Online businesses don’t have the same ultra-tight margins that their brick-and-mortar counterparts suffer from, giving you room to experiment with crypto as a valid form of payment. You should learn more about this practice before pulling the trigger. This basic guide should shed light onto the basics of accepting cryptocurrencies in exchange for your online storefront’s products and services.
The Reasoning Behind Accepting Cryptocurrencies
The main idea behind accepting digital currency is providing value to customers. You shouldn’t latch onto this strategy in hopes of riding a bullish crypto market to wealth or as an easier way of purchasing digital currencies. As long as you’re drawn to accepting cryptocurrencies with the sole intention of improving your business, this effort is a sound business move.
Winning Over Tech-Savvy Customers
When looking for new storefronts, some online shoppers’ number-one priority is finding businesses that accept digital currencies. By expanding your payments to include this option, you could win over this admittedly-small share of shoppers.
Trouble With Other Payment Processors
Some legitimate businesses are earmarked as illegitimate by payment processors due to selling certain goods. Having trouble with mainstream payment processors is another valid reason for accepting digital assets like Bitcoin as payment.
Don’t Plan on Holding Cryptocurrencies Indefinitely
Cryptocurrencies are notoriously volatile. As they become used more widely, this volatility will certainly fade away. For the foreseeable future Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will suffer from volatility.
As a business owner, you should avoid volatility whenever possible. Be prepared to exchange the digital assets you accept into a fiat currency such as exchanging BTC to INR if you live in India or BTC to USD if your in the United States. If you aren’t willing to do this, you could place your business at a stark disadvantage.
Pulling the Trigger — Bringing Crypto to Your Storefront
When initially accepting Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as payment, handling them manually isn’t a concern. As your business accepts more, however, you’ll spend a substantial amount of labor on manually accepting crypto payments.
To avoid this labor-intensive practice, work with a payment provider like Coingate or an e-commerce platform like Shopify to automate your acceptance of digital assets. This measure will also reduce customer service issues that manually handling these payments may present.
