You’ve started your own business and added the general means of payment, like credit card and PayPal. However, you’ve been considering adding Bitcoin (BTC) – or any other cryptocurrency – as well, either to boost your popularity or to bolster crypto adoption rates through trading. However, this can be a challenge to get into due to price volatility.
Despite this, there are some reasons why your business should accept Bitcoins. Have in mind that these reasons may not work for everyone as there are certain risks associated use of Bitcoin, too.
- Low transaction cost
Credit card fees usually run around 2-3% of the transaction amount. Bitcoin fees do not depend on a transaction size. At press time, the average transaction fee is much less than 1 USD, according to Bitinfocharts. Therefore, the larger the transaction is, the cheaper it becomes.
- Safety from fiat exchange rate risk
Bitcoin is certainly volatile. But most merchants who currently accept it set prices in their local currency and get paid in their local currency, and Bitcoin itself acts only as the medium through which the transaction takes place.
- International sales
Bitcoin transactions allow you to expand your markets to basically anywhere. The only restriction is if you’re selling a physical product – where you’d be willing to ship. Since you skip banks altogether, you don’t have to deal with waiting for ~3 days for the transaction to complete. Transfer limits and outrageous fees also become a thing of the past.
- No chargebacks
Chargebacks are quite a headache, and dealing with them can sap a considerable amount of time and energy that could be better spent growing your business. Bitcoin transactions are completely irreversible, so you skip this problem completely.
- Ease of use
When you start, Bitcoin is easy to use, and only getting easier with time. There is absolutely no need to completely understand the technology behind it to be able to accept the coins. You do need some basic knowledge, but that’s easy to come by these days.
- Publicity
Bitcoin adoption is still in its early days. Being the first business in a certain niche to accept Bitcoin can earn you headlines in cryptocurrency news portals and perhaps gain more customers this way.
- Speed
Traditional transactions may take a very long time, especially when making international bank transfers. You might have to wait for up to one week before funds can be successfully transferred from one country to the other. It is even worse when you want to transact during weekends or holidays. The delays can be frustrating. Although you may hear that Bitcoin has slow transaction times, this is just relative to the crypto industry in general. Compared to banks, Bitcoin is incredibly fast and your cross-border transaction can be done in just a few minutes.
- No third parties
Most payment options often involve a third party. When you have money in your bank account, it is the bank that has the ultimate say, despite the money being yours. If they deem it necessary, they can freeze your accounts and render you moneyless. As a business, this can result in a lot of losses. Bitcoin is decentralized, and this means only the buyer and seller are involved.
- New markets
The use of digital currencies has enabled businesses to access new niche markets that might not have been accessible before. For instance, in some parts of Africa and Asia, very few people have access to good banking services. This often locks them out as they cannot transact with people in other geographical areas. The only obstacle is whether you’re willing to ship (in case you sell a physical product) to a certain geographical area.
