After all the hype surrounding Bitcoin and Cryptos in 2017 and the subsequent crash in 2018, many people think Bitcoin is a bubble that has burst. Wrong!

Bitcoin and the underlying blockchain technology is here to stay and it will be transforming our lives, just like the Internet has.

Now is the time to familiarize yourself with Bitcoin and start integrating it into your business, whether you have an online venture or not. This short article outlays some of the reasons, why you should be considering accepting Bitcoin as payment on your ecommerce website.

Huge New Markets

First off, accepting Bitcoin enables anyone, anywhere, to pay for your products and services. This is particularly a boon for citizens in countries with unstable currencies, such as Brazil or Turkey, who are increasingly using Bitcoin, due to a lack of faith in their own currencies. Even supposedly safe currencies such as the Euro are unstable, with the current situation in Italy, forcing many to transfer into other assets such gold or Bitcoin. Bottom line… more and more people are turning to Bitcoin, which means more potential customers for your ecommerce business.

Another interesting fact about Bitcoin, is that the biggest investors and users of Bitcoin are wealthy Millennial males (over 75%). If your ecommerce website caters for this market, you need be offering them the opportunity to do business using Bitcoin.

Nill or Minimal Transaction Fees

When taking payments online, banks and other financial services skim money from your business. Most payment gateways and credit cards charge between 2-5% per transaction, plus monthly fees. As Bitcoin is peer-to-peer, banks don’t get a cut of the action, so costs are minimal. The leading leading Bitcoin ecommerce merchant services typically charge 1% per transaction. In the case of Coinbase, accepting Bitcoin is free! So, if you are turning over large sums, accepting Bitcoin through your website could easily save you loads each year.

Reduce Fraud and Chargebacks

Fraud is a big problem when selling products online. If a customer claims they did not receive the goods or services promised, the ecommerce merchant loses both the revenue from the sale, plus incurs hefty chargeback fees from the credit card company. Bitcoin eliminates this. Once Bitcoin is transferred between customer and ecommerce merchant, it is final! If there is a dispute, it is up the merchant and not the credit card company to decide whether to refund or not. Again, Bitcoin cuts out the middleman, resulting is less costs and more security for the online retailer.

It’s Easy to Enable and Use

Even if you have no idea what Bitcoin is and are worried about how to go about accepting it through your website, you’ll be relieved to know it is surprisingly simple to set up and use.

Leading crypto companies such as Coinbase and BitPay make it easy to add Bitcoin as an additional payment option, alongside traditional payment options on your ecommerce website such as PayPal, Stripe, SagePay etc. The costs of setting up your website to accept Bitcoin and other crytos are minimal and do not require any restructuring or development by your web designer.

To accept payments in Bitcoin, you will require a digital wallet. Again, setting up a digital wallet is straightforward (see industry leader: blockchain.com).  Once you have crypto in your wallet, you can either convert back to your local fiat currency, use it to purchase other products and services (you can even spend Bitcoin on a debit card – see crypto.com) or invest in other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum or Ripple for example.

Get Ready…

The world is changing. People and business are losing faith in fiat currencies & banks and are now moving towards cryptos such as Bitcoin. The revolution is only just getting started. Once you start accepting Bitcoin as payment, you’ll be in a good position to capitalise as Bitcoin and blockchain technology becomes accepted by the masses.

If you would like a consultation on how to accept Bitcoin through your online shop and how to set up a wallet and safely transfer cryptos, get in touch today…