For online merchants, one of the biggest problems they continue to face is the issue of international transfer of money. A vast number of countries have one restriction or two that makes it hard to send money outside their areas.

Some countries ban their citizens from receiving money via a few online payment processing platforms like PayPal. In other regions, banks and the financial institutions prohibit the use of debit cards to make online purchases.

Thus, for these reasons, it became challenging for businesses to offer their services or sell their products in some areas of the world. However, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have made it possible for online merchants to provide their services and sell their products in all parts of the world. Cryptocurrencies have eliminated the limitations of sending and receiving funds, both locally and internationally.

Why accept Bitcoin and other cryptos on your site

There are a lot of reasons why you should integrate cryptocurrency payment on your platform. They offer a lot of competitive advantage to both the customers and the merchants compared to their fiat counterparts. Here are a few reasons why you should accept crypto payments:

• No restrictions: There are no restrictions when it comes to cryptocurrency payments. Cryptocurrencies are created in such a way that anyone from any part of the world can send funds to another person in another part of the world. Users can send and receive payments from any part of the world. Governments across the globe have no control over cryptocurrencies, and as such, they cannot prevent their citizens from using them. Thus, as an online merchant, integrating a crypto payment gateway on your site would allow you to collect payment from customers all over the globe.
• Secure payments: There is zero possibility that transactions would be hijacked with cryptocurrencies. The blockchain is used to secure cryptocurrency transactions, making it impossible for frauds such as chargebacks and other issues associated with fiat currencies. Thus, integrating a crypto payment gateway on your site means that your transactions would be secure.
• Cheap rates: One of the most enticing features of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is that they offer affordable transaction fees. With cryptocurrencies, recipients (in this case, the merchants) don’t pay any transaction fees. The customers meanwhile are charged a very cheap and affordable cost for making transactions. The transaction fee for cryptocurrencies is much less expensive than when you use debit or credit cards to make online purchases. The fact that you don’t have to pay transaction fees is another reason you should integrate a crypto payment gateway on your platform.
• Fast transactions: It is no secret that cryptocurrency transactions are approved within seconds or minutes after they are initiated. This means that you will receive funds immediately after a customer pays for a product or a service.
• Easy crypto to fiat conversion: Cryptocurrency payment gateways make it easier for merchants to convert cryptos to fiat currencies. The payment processors are in charge of accepting the cryptocurrencies and sending the equivalent fiat currency to the merchants. Thus, this allows merchants to provide services to people using both fiat and cryptocurrencies.

If you accept cryptocurrencies on your site, you will get to enjoy the following benefits:

• A more significant customer base as more people now use cryptos for transactions
• Faster transactions
• Cheaper transaction fees
• Safe and secure payment for goods and services

How to accept crypto payment using gateway companies

There are several ways to accept cryptocurrencies on your site. One of them is to use a payment processor. Cryptocurrency processors such as BitPay, Coingate, CoinPayments, and a host of others can facilitate this. Here are the steps you need to follow to integrate one of them on your site:

1. Research and choose your preferred payment gateway: The first step is to research the crypto payment gateways to find out which one would fit in perfectly with your company’s plans. You have to look at the services they offer, their transaction fees, the number of cryptocurrencies they accept, whether they support crypto to fiat conversion, whether they are a registered and regulated company or not, and more. All these questions need to be addressed before you make your decision.
2. Contact the crypto payment processor: After choosing your payment processor, the second step is to get in touch with them to confirm your earlier questions. The customer care team of the payment processor will answer your questions and give you directions on how to start.
3. Open a merchant digital wallet: When integrating a payment gateway on your site, you will most likely require a merchant digital wallet. You will open an account with your payment processing company and register as a merchant. This will allow you to enjoy the benefits they have to offer.
4. Select your currencies: After opening an account with your processor, you will be required to choose the cryptocurrencies you wish to accept. It is recommended to select all the cryptocurrencies supported by the payment gateway. However, you can select the cryptos that you want to receive. You will also choose whether you wish to accept the cryptos directly or if you wish for them to be converted to fiat currencies. Finally, you will select the fiat currency you want to receive your funds.
5. Integrate the merchant digital wallet into your point of sale (POS): After completing the above process, you will be given a public address, private key, and QR Code. You will proceed to integrate these details into your POS system, invoices, and online shopping cart. You can incorporate these details as plugins in your eCommerce platform. Different eCommerce platforms such as WooCommerce, WHMCS, and others have plugins for these functions.

The payment gateways usually provide step-by-step instructions on how to integrate those functions into a website. Thus, making it easy for merchants to add cryptocurrency payments to their sites.

6. Make the process accounting-friendly: Finally, endeavor to make the process accounting-friendly. Regardless of whether you are accepting cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies, you will need to put systems in place to ensure you can import your digital transactions. You can use accounting software to balance the books and keep track of your finances. You can also decide to do it manually.

Conclusion

Cryptocurrencies have become popular as a means of payment amongst people all over the world. As a merchant, accepting cryptocurrencies as a means of payment is now easy due to the rise of crypto payment gateways. You can easily integrate them into your website and start accepting cryptocurrencies as a means of payment.