Harmony is a truly trailblazing blockchain that brings together scalability, security, and decentralization. Harmony possesses numerous advantages compared to competitors. For instance, by using Harmony, Ethereum applications can enjoy 2-second transaction finality and 100 times lower fees. Harmony’s secure bridges offer cross-chain transfers with Ethereum, Binance, and other chains. The advanced efficiency of Harmony makes its native cryptocurrency ONE an impeccable payment solution. NOWPayments helps businesses to accept Harmony payments with the help of an API.
Key points:
- The Harmony blockchain combines scalability, security, and decentralization.
- ONE payments are nearly free and instant.
- NOWPayments’ API solutions let businesses integrate ONE payments.
What is Harmony crypto?
ONE, the Harmony cryptocurrency, is the component that powers the entire Harmony ecosystem. The ONE cryptocurrency has a 2-second finality which means that its transactions are nearly instant. The finality offered by Harmony is much better than those of Ethereum and especially Bitcoin. At the same time, the Harmony crypto possesses extremely low gas fees. ONE is used for staking, as well as for paying for on-chain operations.
What is API
API stands for Application Programming Interface. Basically, it functions as a computing interface of a system which regulates how components and applications “communicate” with one another.
In the case of cryptocurrencies, APIs facilitate access to market data on exchanges or blockchain protocols.
In order to utilize API, one needs an API key, a special code that identifies the user. API keys enable tracking and control of API usage.
Pros and cons of Harmony payments
Advantages
Harmony ONE gas fees
Fees are a major point of concern for businesses. Banks charge companies thousands of dollars in fees annually which ultimately negatively impacts their balance sheets. The size of fees grows every year and it may seem that there is no escape from them. Enter the ONE cryptocurrency. On average a ONE transaction costs $0.0001. Such a low gas fee is possible thanks to Harmony’s innovative approach to blockchain. The inexpensive fees offered by ONE can be a real competitive advantage for businesses. Basically, lower fees imply fewer expenses, larger revenues, and more opportunities. For instance, thanks to ONE’s gas fees, businesses can offer lower prices.
Faster payment processing
The cost of transactions is not the only issue businesses face when dealing with their payment infrastructure. The speed of transactions is another vital factor that can be greatly improved by deploying a ONE payment gateway. The standard payment processing procedures may take days. Banks that process payments are usually extremely conservative in their approaches to transaction processing. This leads to a substandard customer experience and causes businesses to suffer from payment delays. The 2-second finality of Harmony, on the other hand, makes the ONE payment processing effortless and instant. Businesses accepting ONE receive their payments in a matter of seconds.
Exceptional privacy
The Harmony blockchain, like the majority of blockchain networks on the market, offers the privacy of a high standard to users. The transactions on the Harmony blockchain are faceless, so they do not contain any information about the sender and the recipient. In fact, the blockchain does not ask users for any kind of information whatsoever. This is why Harmony is a reliable solution for businesses that value and respect the demand for anonymity of their customers. Not everyone is happy with sharing their personal info online, so ONE payments can let these people shop around privately.
No chargebacks
The chargeback system that every bank has is often abused by criminals and businesses end up being the main victims of chargeback fraud. Harmony does not have chargebacks due to two important factors. First of all, Harmony is a decentralized blockchain meaning that there is no single authority capable of controlling all transactions on the network. As a result, ONE transactions are completely peer-to-peer and involve only two parties without intermediaries. Secondly, Harmony transactions are irreversible so once they have been recorded there is no way to change them. Thus, businesses using Harmony payments can be certain that they will not suffer from chargeback fraud.
True ownership
Businesses tend to store their customers’ payments in bank accounts. The problem with banks lies in the fact that by giving them money, businesses risk losing all of their funds, for instance, in the event of the bank’s bankruptcy. In the case of cryptocurrencies, coins belong strictly to users, of course, if they decide to keep their holdings in a non-custodial wallet. Basically, businesses that receive ONE as a payment become the sole owners of their money and no third party can interact with their holdings.
Disadvantages
Fluctuations
Price fluctuations are perhaps the biggest issue which may arise when dealing with cryptocurrencies, including ONE. Basically, the crypto market is subject to occasional volatility which may seem quite extreme at times, especially to those people who have never interacted with crypto. Fluctuations can negatively impact the price of your crypto holdings. Nevertheless, those businesses that wish to keep the value of their payments intact can use NOWPayments’ automatic crypto-to-fiat conversion feature.
Security
It was mentioned above that cryptocurrencies such as ONE provide users with the ability to fully own their cryptocurrency. Yet, when users decide to keep their crypto on centralized exchanges, they also may become victims of fraud or hacks. This is why using ONE on custodial platforms may entail certain risks. At the same time, if you observe all security rules and keep your coins in a non-custodial wallet, your coins will be safe.
How to accept Harmony with API
In order to start accepting ONE as payment through an API, businesses need to follow these steps:
- First, create an account on NOWPayments’ official website.
- Next, provide your ONE public address to which you would like to receive payments.
- Then, you will be able to generate your API key.
- Check out this page to learn how to use the API key.
- There are also ready-made solutions for accepting ONE as payment.
Conclusion
ONE has low gas fees and a 2-second transition finality. NOWPayments’ API tools let businesses accept ONE payments easily and without hassle.