How to accept Bitcoin payments

Bitcoin is increasingly being accepted by merchants worldwide. Various payments or cryptocurrency transfer services are emerging. However, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each service can be challenging. In order to make the task easier, we will analyze three different ways to Accept Bitcoin payments on Websites:

Popular Cryptocurrency Exchange Platforms

There are many cryptocurrency exchange platforms, like Coinbase and Bitpay. With them, it is very simple to pass an order and receive your funds, even if the identity verification process is tedious (KYC / DOC). You simply provide your e-mail address and indicate the order amount made by your customer, and it’s gone. The cherry on the cake, there are many plugins that can be integrated into e-commerce sites.

Regarding fees, they are usually 1%. We are still a long way from the fees charged on fiat money by Visa or Mastercard (0.28% on average), but transaction costs are going down slowly but surely. However, this method, with a commission in percentage, makes you dependent on Bitcoin’s price fluctuations. For example, 1% of $6000 ($60) and 1% of $10 000 ($100) is a significant difference.

Finally, another notable feature on these platforms is the option to convert your Bitcoins into a large amount of fiat currency of your choice immediately after receiving payment. This is done by using the current exchange rate of the exact trade platform, which is not usually the best rate but allows you to “kill volatility”.

Unfortunately, there is no rose without a thorn, and when you choose this method, you accept the fact that you do not control your funds at any time, and this creates a relationship of dependence on your service provider.

Here are a few pros and cons:

Advantages

• Simplicity
• Wide choice of CMS plugins
• Quick conversion into fiat money

Disadvantages

• No anonymity
• Commissions in percentage
• You do not control your funds.
• Country restrictions

Do Everything By Yourself

This also happens to be a smart way to start accepting Bitcoin on your website. With this approach, you are sure to keep your money under control since you do not need to deal with an intermediary or third party. So, you are the boss, from A to Z.

The second advantage of this method is that you do not have to pay any transaction fees. That’s because there is no intermediary, therefore, no commission to pay. Even a kid knows that. Nonetheless, you may feel that this process deserves compensation and add a “tax,” like a processor, for your customers to pay. Maybe this can be something you can consider for later on.

Of course, working on your own can be time-consuming and even become inefficient. Additionally, the bigger your business, the more impact it will have on it. In fact, losses could be more significant than the transaction costs you could potentially save.

Besides having to generate all the Bitcoin addresses yourself for each transaction, another inconvenience is that you will have to store a full Bitcoin node on your own server. Also, you need to have good programming skills and a lot of free time.

Here are a few pros and cons:

Advantages

• Total control of your funds
• No transaction fees
• Perfect for occasional payments
• Around the World

Disadvantages

• A lot of work to prepare software
• Need to have a powerful server(s)
• Not for a beginner
• Waste of time if you do it yourself

Application Program Interfaces (API)

This is not the most common way to start accepting Bitcoin. In fact, it is far from it. Here, the company takes care of the fund transfer and nothing more, from your customer’s wallet to yours. For this type of service, Apirone.com is a trustworthy operator.

Moreover, it’s pretty simple to compare a Bitcoin processing company with the more conventional platforms mentioned earlier. The advantages of one are the disadvantage of the other. So, with Apirone.com, we benefit from total anonymity and no registration requirements, not even KYC.

In addition, the commissions are fixed (0.0002 BTC / transaction), and the funds are directly transferred to your own wallet, cold storage, or to your account on a trading platform. This is so that you have more control over it, and you are no longer dependent on your operator or on the fluctuating price of Bitcoin.

However, by following this process, you will not be able to convert your Bitcoin into fiat money at any time. It will be possible, but not at this time. Also, there is only one plugin for CMS, WooCommerce, which perfectly works with WordPress for e-commerce. However, it is very easy to use, thanks to a ”user-friendly” and intuitive API.

Advantages

• No registration, no KYC/Forms necessary
• Fixed commission (0,0002 BTC)
• Total control of your funds
• Around the World

Disadvantages

• Only one plugin for CMS
• No conversion into fiat money
• Need to write code

Conclusion

Something practical, something complicated, sometimes insufficient, sometimes with significant restrictions (country, sanctions, type of business …). There is no perfect choice if you are looking for the best of everything. Therefore, everyone needs to accurately assess their needs and their expectations using the tables above.

Rome was not built in a day, and we must allow time for technology to evolve. The ideal solution for everyone is certainly somewhere in between these three types of processes. However, for the moment, you must use your own good judgment. Now, there’s only one thing left to do:

Start accepting Bitcoins today!