From small stores to large enterprises, merchants are embracing crypto payments and beginning to offer different cryptocurrencies to their clients as payment methods. Marketplaces are also catching up with this trend and try to feature Bitcoin and altcoins as payment options. Nowadays, there are plenty of solutions for marketplaces to deploy their crypto payment gateways. One of them is NOWPayments’ plugins which are compatible with various eCommerce platforms, including Shopify, PrestaShop, and WooCommerce. Read the article to discover how marketplaces can benefit from crypto payments.
Key Points:
- Cryptocurrencies made a revolution by bringing security and decentralization to electronic payments.
- Marketplaces can use cryptocurrencies as a fast, cheap, and anonymous payment method.
- NOWPayments provides tools such as crypto payment plugins that can help marketplaces to deploy their crypto payment gateways.
What is a cryptocurrency, and why has it revolutionized electronic payments?
Cryptocurrency is similar to a standard fiat currency such as the dollar or euro, with the exception that it is entirely digital. Essentially, crypto tokens exist only on the Internet, and they do not have a physical form. Additionally, cryptocurrency systems are decentralized thanks to the blockchain technology which powers them. Blockchain records every transaction and makes information about it public. At the same time, there is no single authority on the blockchain, so transactions can be sent and received privately from anywhere in the world by any user without any limits. Cryptocurrencies’ name stems from its core technology of encryption which is used to verify crypto transactions on the blockchain.
The emergence of cryptocurrencies led to a real revolution in the sphere of electronic payments. Previously, digital cash was prone to fraud and hacks, so people did not utilize it for conducting actual financial transactions. Yet, blockchain helped to make digital currencies secure, decentralized, and eligible for safe transactions. As a result, people started to employ cryptocurrencies for conducting fast and private payments. Today, the sphere of decentralized finance has grown substantially from the times when people bought pizza for 10k Bitcoin. There is a reliable infrastructure in place and numerous cryptocurrencies available for people to use as payment.
Why is cryptocurrency a great solution for your customers?
Privacy
Marketplace customers can get many advantages out of paying with cryptocurrencies. One of the key features of crypto tokens is privacy. When paying for products using the standard payment methods, people end up disclosing a great deal of their personal info, including their name. This does not sit well with many, but people practically have no other option. Cryptocurrencies can be used by marketplaces as a private and confidential way of paying for products. In order to use crypto, one does not need to disclose their identity or undergo authorization. Thus, people can freely spend their crypto coins without being afraid of compromising their identity.
Speed
Cryptocurrencies are also an excellent solution for marketplaces because of their speed of transactions. There are coins such as DigiByte and XRP, whose transactions practically take mere seconds to complete. Moreover, crypto transactions are borderless and can be sent and received from anywhere in the world. Marketplaces that sell their products to foreign clients can particularly benefit from this amazing feature. People who shop at large marketplaces value their time, and using crypto as payment can significantly facilitate the whole payment process. The fast crypto transaction can help marketplaces to get their money quickly without waiting for long periods of time for payments to confirm.
Low fees
Cryptocurrency transactions are also an expensive solution for payments. Marketplaces tend to process hundreds of payments every day, and each of them entails a certain bank fee. International bank transfers get particularly costly for marketplaces. Cryptocurrencies do not have such a problem since their transaction usually cost mere cents or even less than that. For instance, XNO token transactions from Nano are completely free for all users. So, by offering XNO tokens as a payment method, marketplaces can really cut down their fee expenses and provide clients with a chance to save some money.
How cryptocurrency will improve your marketplace
Apart from reducing fee expenses and increasing the speed of payments, cryptocurrencies can improve marketplaces in many other ways. For example, cryptocurrencies can provide marketplaces with better accountability and transparency. All crypto transactions are forever stored on the blockchain and publicly available, so marketplaces can always track all of the transactions they process.
Cryptocurrencies also can let marketplaces attract new clients. The crypto community is massive, and it is constantly growing. As people accumulate crypto in their wallets, they seek ways to spend it on something else. Marketplaces, by offering crypto payments, can provide millions of crypto investors with a chance to exchange their tokens for actual products. Essentially, marketplaces can make crypto enthusiasts their prospective customers.
How to integrate crypto payments into your marketplace
Marketplaces can deploy their crypto payment gateway in a variety of ways. Yet, the easiest method is using NOWPayments’ plugins. The plugins are compatible with platforms such as PrestaShop, WooCommerce, Magento 2, WHMCS, OpenCart, Zen Cart, Shopify, and Shopware.
In order to start using these plugins, the marketplace needs to register on the official website of NOWPayments. Then, it will be necessary to provide the crypto address for the coins the marketplace would like to receive. Next, the marketplace will need to pick the preferred plugin and follow the installation instructions.
Those marketplaces that do not utilize the aforementioned platforms can request a custom solution that NOWPayments will happily provide.
Why are cryptocurrency payments the future of marketplaces?
Cryptocurrencies open many amazing opportunities for marketplaces. Crypto payments entail lower fees, faster transactions, and more clients. Therefore, it is expected that more marketplaces are going to embrace cryptocurrency payments in the future. After all, the mass adoption of crypto is inescapable and rapidly moving, so it is only natural for marketplaces, just like other merchants and businesses, to join it.
Summary
Cryptocurrencies have revolutionized online payments by bringing security and reliability to electronic payments. Nowadays, there is a great number of different cryptocurrencies that marketplaces can accept as payment. Crypto payments provide merchants and their customers with privacy and fast and inexpensive transactions. NOWPayments’ tools such as crypto payment plugins are a great solution for marketplaces wishing to accept cryptocurrency payments.