Should Your Business Accept Cryptocurrency Payments?

The payment options you accept in your physical or online store can be important in convincing your would-be customers to complete their transactions with you. If a customer cannot find their preferred payment option in your store’s list of accepted payments, they might not push through with their purchase and look for a business that aligns with their preferences.

Losing business in this way can be devastating for an establishment trying to set itself up for success in the digital age. As such, businesses should carefully consider whether or not to accept payments in the form of cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency users have grown in number in recent years, and so has the variety of cryptocurrencies they are adopting.

Would it be a good idea to add this mode of exchange to your establishment’s list of accepted payment methods? In most cases, the answer is yes—especially if you’re eager to enjoy the following benefits and prepared to deal with the complications that come with it.

1. The Pros and Cons of Transacting in Cryptocurrencies

Having a Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Monero wallet for receiving cryptocurrency payments from your customers can provide you with the following advantages:

2. Access a Wider Range of Customers

Once you start accepting cryptocurrencies in your digital or physical store, you make it easier for techie customers to purchase your products or services. Your market will not be limited to people who pay in cash or credit, as it will also include a portion of the people who have invested in cryptocurrencies in the past few years.

You’ll also be able to accept payment from anyone from anywhere, given that you can live up to your side of the bargain by delivering your goods or providing your services to the place where the customer indicated.

3. Ability to Provide Better Customer Experiences

Privacy is becoming rarer these days, and many customers would like to use their assets without compromising their data or being subject to scrutiny. Using cryptocurrency, your business is catering to their needs without risking their personal details. The same can be said for your business, as the protection offered by transacting in cryptocurrencies goes both ways.

4. Conduct Business with Lower Transaction Fees

One of the main draws of accepting cryptocurrency is a lack of a central system to regulate the flow of coins and tokens. This allows individuals and organizations that transact in cryptocurrency to choose an intermediary that can offer them the most favorable transaction fees.

Instead of paying 2 to 4% of each transaction to a credit card company or an intermediary, a business can cut down that cost or even eliminate it entirely. Also, there’s no need to wait for payments to clear foreign banks when transacting with crypto, even if the person paying you is based in another country.

At the same time, accepting cryptocurrencies also opens up your establishment to the following risks:

5. High Level of Price Volatility

It’s a well-known fact that cryptocurrencies are quite volatile. The price of the coin you use, BTC, ETH, or XMR, can change dramatically in a day. This, in turn, will affect how you will translate the value of your cryptocurrency assets and include them in your financial records.

You need to be able to quickly and regularly exchange the crypto coins in your wallet for digital or physical cash to protect your business from the drastic changes that the cryptocurrency market often goes through.

6. Technical Barriers and Upkeep

Cryptocurrencies are still developing and will continue to change to reflect the communities that support them. It’s a must to familiarize yourself with the current technologies behind this asset.

Still, you also have to keep an eye out for up-and-coming developments that can impact the coin you support and the community behind it. You need to be prepared for the changes this asset will continue to go through if you want to use it effectively for your business.

7. Regulatory Uncertainties

Cryptocurrencies offer a fairly new way of trading, as the first cryptocurrency was only released in 2009. Laws can be pretty slow in keeping up with technology, and digital coins and tokens can sometimes exist in regulatory limbo.

This can mean that, in many places, the people and organizations that use cryptocurrencies cannot expect the same level of protection afforded to consumers who use more traditional means of trade and exchange, such as fiat money and credit cards. It can also be difficult to determine how cryptocurrency assets should be declared in forms and regulatory reports.

There are many benefits when catering to customers who wish to conduct their business using digital coins. Accepting payments in the form of cryptocurrency as early as now can boost your establishment’s reputation among progressive-minded customers who see the role that crypto coins and tokens will play in the future.

Also, being a part of the cryptocurrency community early on will enable your business to easily adapt to future technologies that may develop from such a dynamic environment.

However, it’s important to consider whether your business is prepared to face the possible complications of going this route. Only by being fully aware of these risks and possibilities can you maximize the opportunities that cryptocurrencies present to your establishment.