With the increasing adoption of Bitcoin as an alternative currency and store of value, it's no wonder that it is gaining more acceptance from businesses of all types as a legitimate form of payment for products and services.
There are several reasons and benefits to why your business should be accepting Bitcoin (BTC) or considering accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment in the future. Not to mention it's incredible advantage at reducing transaction fees that are well known in the world of credit and debit card payments.
Throughout this article, we will cover seven irrefutable ways that Bitcoin for business can be used as a payment method for products and services.
Why Should You Start Accepting Bitcoin for Business?
Before outlining the Bitcoin payment processing methods available for your business, it may help to gain a little insight into why you should be doing it in the first place.
Here are five main reasons why accepting bitcoin for business owners is essential:
1. Fast Payments, Low Cost
Funds are made immediately available and are there for the day to day survival of many small businesses. Accepting Bitcoin payments are faster and more liquid than credit and debit card payments.
2. Easy International Transfer
Online retailers and other businesses may avoid selling their products and services globally because of the expenses associated with international transaction fees. Bitcoin relieves this cost by enabling fast, easy, and cheaper international payments.
3. Secure Fraud Prevention
Bitcoin provides protection that credit cards and other banks can't offer. Once you receive payment, it can't be disputed. Identity-theft is almost non-existent — unless someone steals your private password.
4. No Chargebacks
Bitcoin transactions are irreversible. You don't have to deal with chargebacks and returns like with credit and debit card transactions.
5. Super Low Transaction Fees
Bitcoin is known to reduce credit card processing fees to under one percent!
Accepting Bitcoin From Online & Offline Sources
If you only have a small customer base of Bitcoin users, the easiest way to accept Bitcoin payments would be direct customer transfers. You will need to set up a Bitcoin wallet for your business first.
Several Bitcoin exchanges cater to the different needs of business owners seeking a wallet service. It can be as simple as filling out an online registration form, getting your wallet address, your private transaction key, and setting up a transaction method for your customers.
Remember that you will need to link your bank account or your credit card to your Bitcoin wallet to withdraw funds in cash or other currencies.
Having a QR-code for your customers to scan online or at your counter is the most accessible form of accepting Bitcoin payments for your business. Your customers scan the code with their smartphone, put in the number of Bitcoins necessary for the transaction, and use their private key as their signature to complete the process.
If you're still not convinced about the advantage of accepting Bitcoin for your business, you can read more here.
7 Ways To Use BTC For Business
1. Exchanges
A bitcoin exchange is essentially a digital marketplace. A place where traders can buy and sell bitcoins using different paper currencies and other cryptocurrencies. A bitcoin currency exchange acts as an intermediary between the buyers and sellers of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Business owners can use exchanges to turn their Bitcoins into cash.
2. Online Wallets
A Bitcoin wallet is a digital software program where your Bitcoins are stored. As a business owner, you will need a wallet to accept any payment from a customer trying to pay you in Bitcoin.
All wallet holders have a private key (password) that corresponds to their unique Bitcoin address for their wallet. Bitcoin wallets allow Bitcoins to be sent and received - transferring ownership of a Bitcoin balance to the end-user. There are desktop, mobile, web, and hardware style Bitcoin wallets.
3. Screen Apps
Software developers are streamlining Bitcoin payments for businesses by introducing various touchscreen apps. These apps work as direct transaction points like online wallets do. The merchant connects their wallet address to the app, inputs the required amount of paper currency needed, and generates a QR-code with an address containing the amount of the funds to be sent in Bitcoin.
The customer scans the QR-code with their mobile wallet app and signs off on the transaction. These services are available for most smartphones and tablets.
4. Hardware Terminals
Bitcoin's emergence as an acceptable form of payment has led to a blossoming of commerce-specific hardware companies catering to providing point-of-sale solutions to accept Bitcoin payments.
They vary in form from Bitcoin-specific payment terminals to Bitcoin-oriented APIs that can be integrated into the point-of-sale terminal you already use for your business!
5. Gift Cards
Bitcoin gift cards are an ever-increasing medium of exchange for the Bitcoin community. Even if you don't accept Bitcoin payments directly, you can offer the option to exchange Bitcoins for gift cards to be used at your business establishment.
6. Simple Buttons
If your business is online, you can accept manual payments to your Bitcoin wallet. All you need to do is provide your customers with your public key or a QR-code. Why not streamline the process by adding a "Pay With Bitcoin" button to your shopping cart?
Most service providers will provide you with a pre-programmed Bitcoin button to add to your website. You will receive a few lines of HTML code to copy and paste into your website from the provider.
7. Invoices
If you receive payments via invoices, then consider these tips. You have a required amount on your invoice in regular fiat currency. You should provide, at least, a recommended amount of Bitcoin or a way to calculate the cost in Bitcoin.
Your invoice should include a wallet address for your customer to send the payment to. Including a QR-code would be a great idea due to its simplicity versus entering an entire public key.
Bitcoin for Business Is Here To Stay
Once you are done integrating Bitcoin payment processing into your business, you will want to begin promoting the service to your customers. Let them know you care about the future of their safety and privacy while conducting business in the modern, digital world. Welcome to the future of payment processing.
Check out more of our articles to learn more about bitcoin for business and other topics. Visit the Cryptocurrency section of the Bootstrap Business Blog for more ways to use Bitcoin for business.
