Crypto pay options prove convenient for ecommerce partnerships

A new partnership between the multinational e-commerce platform Shopify and the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com makes it easier for digital store owners to cash in through the introduction of crypto payments.

Crypto.com in May announced that Shopify merchants can enable Crypto.com’s cryptocurrency pay platform on their online storefronts. This agreement lets merchants expand their reach by giving customers the ability to pay with more than 20 tokens, including CRO, ETH, BTC, DOT, and DOGE.

This integration further underscores Crypto.com Pay as a preferred cryptocurrency payment app for online merchants who are keen to accept cryptocurrencies, according to the company’s partnership announcement. Crypto.com serves over 50 million users globally. Its off-chain service handles consumer transactions in real time via the Crypto.com App.

The agreement with Crypto.com provides Shopify merchants with an additional fast and convenient way for customers to pay for their online orders, according to John S. Lee, lead of blockchain ecosystem at Shopify.

As merchants begin to adopt crypto payments, currency preference will be an important factor. Both customers and merchants have expressed a desire to transact with the highest market cap currencies and stablecoins which are less volatile and offer increased scalability.

A February report from Crypto.com and financial technology solutions firm FIS shows both customers and merchants have a growing desire to transact with crypto.

For instance, within the next year 75% of Crypto.com customers want to purchase goods or services with cryptocurrency; and 60% of Worldpay from FIS merchants are willing to accept cryptocurrency for goods or services.

At the same time, customers want parity between online and in-store payment options. Merchants appear to be prioritizing the e-commerce experience.

One major example of consumers’ interest in crypto payment options are Crypto.com’s crypto debit cards. Usage reached double-digit growth for per-user spending in 2021 compared to the previous year as it entered new markets.

Supporting crypto payments is logical now as there is more and more crypto adoption. And more payment methods typically lead to higher conversion rates on e-commerce merchants’ sites.

Consumer adoption of crypto payments now mimics internet adoption itself in the mid-1990s, ecommercetimes.com says. Crypto adoption is still in very early stages.

For cryptocurrency to become as readily used by consumers as other digital payment forms, the transaction cost needs to come down further. A lot of cryptocurrencies still have scaling issues. Crypto prices need to stabilize. At the moment, there is a lot of price volatility which can mean that the shirt you ordered costs $20 on one day and $25 on another.

Big banks, and fintech firms e.g., PayPal, have entered the game and provide bitcoin wallets to their users. Countries started adopting bitcoin, and social media giants like Meta are getting into the game of NFTs, where the underlying tech also is based on crypto.

Crypto brings native currency to the internet and it is very flexible. There are no restrictions on currency/exchange rates. Payments with cryptocurrency can be more private as well. Cryptocurrencies have no regard for national borders. An individual in one country can send coins to someone in a different country without any added difficulty. With traditional financial services, getting funds across international borders can take a long time, or come with hefty fees, or be restricted due to regulations, sanctions, or tensions between specific countries. When players like Meta and PayPal are in the game now, crypto is becoming easier to use.

New crypto users should select a trustworthy bank or exchange where they buy their crypto, for example, coinbase, Kraken, Crypto.com, or PayPal. Besides, must verify the source or the vendor involved in the transaction. If it looks “phishy,” do not engage.

Crypto involves more than just one type of currency. Besides Bitcoin or Ethereum, there are also so-called stablecoins like Circle USDC or Tether USDT. These stablecoins are technically crypto put represent a one-to-one peg to the dollar. So one is paying with crypto but at the value of a dollar.

Merchants could also allow payments with Bitcoin and Ethereum and speculate that they will grow in value. This speculation is risky though, especially in bear markets like right now where the value of cryptocurrencies can also trend massively negative.

Shopify warns users to verify that cryptocurrencies are an acceptable form of payment in their region before accepting them.