What Your Customers can pay you using Crypto

It's essential to be aware of the viewpoint of your customers particularly at crucial conversion points like checkout. A critical part of an efficient checkout process is to provide an easy, secure method for customers to check out using the option of payment they prefer.

In this post, we'll help you understand the process of making a payment from your customers' point of view. With this knowledge you'll be able to recognize opportunities for increasing the rate at which you convert customers, give assistance directly, and inform the customers and potential customers.

Crypto vocab check

You can dig into each of these terms a bit further in this article. But here's a summary of the terms that are most relevant:

Public key: Essentially what you need is information in order to send the cryptocurrency.

Public address: A hashed (basically short) version of the public key. It is the kind of address you could offer to anyone who wishes to transfer money. Imagine it as being a Venmo username or PayPal.me URL. (e.g., 0x12B0aD31f483Cdf4741de8f5679A472E5fe3345G)

Keys that are private: allows user to have access to the funds transferred to a public key. It should not be divulged to another person.

Web3: Defined by AP Stylebook, Web3 is a catchall term for the prospect of a new stage of the internet driven by the cryptocurrency-related technology, blockchain.

Web3-based wallet (crypto wallet): It stores private and public keys to facilitate blockchain transactions.

Seed word: A set of 12-24 randomly-generated words that give access to Wweb3 wallet. This is used to gain access back to a cryptocurrency wallet. This should never be shared with another party.

The non-custodial wallet is owned by the user. the private keys to their wallet and have full access to their Wweb3 wallet. (e.g., Metamask, Trust Wallet. )

Custodial wallet private keys are held by third-party firms. (e.g., Coinbase, OpenNode. )

Peer-to-peer payments

Perhaps you're thinking "Isn't one of the main advantages of cryptocurrencies the fact that they're peer-to-peer and don't rely on third party services?"

Absolutely, it is feasible to collect money from your customer without the need to utilize any third-party service or tool.

But, it's not practical for the common user. They're not going to run their own node, generate transactions from a terminal command line, or even remember the private keys to their account. In addition, the majority of retailers are willing to shell out a tiny transaction cost to offer customers a simple service, and also save themselves lots of time and energy in reconciling transactions to their orders.

This article is focusing on typical ecommerce transactions using tools and services most likely to be utilized by intermediate and beginner users.

An overview of how to make a cryptocurrency payment

From the perspective of a consumer, there are three steps:

1. You can access a fundable digital wallet.
2. Connect their wallet.
3. Make the payment, and then receive a confirmation.

The specific experience depends on the processing company and wallets involved. Let's look at some examples and talk about what's happening every step of the way for the customer.

1. Access a fully funded digital wallet

There are many options that are available to people who need cryptocurrency wallets. Every option has its own features, benefits as well as support for various types of cryptocurrencies, chains, as well as the payment experience.

"Traditional" digital wallet providers like PayPal along with CashApp currently support crypto payments. Leading crypto exchanges in the industry like Coinbase, Crypto.com, and Binance offer their own apps, which also serve as wallets for payments. There are also crypto-native wallets like MetaMask, Rainbow, and several other options. You should do yourself a thorough research and determine the best option or options to suit your needs.

After choosing a wallet and getting it set to go live, the following stage is to incorporate coins to the wallet so that you have an available balance to spend. It is typically a simple procedure since most wallets provide in-app purchase options.

What is the best way for a consumer to know which cryptocurrency to add?

It's a great question! Often, it doesn't actually matter, aside from charges that could add up if they have to exchange currency. Certain payment processors for crypto will offer automatic exchange services to allow customers to pay you with one currency, and then will receive the money in a different.

If that's not feasible the majority of crypto wallets provide in-wallet exchange/swap functionality so that customers who have bitcoin (BTC) but wants to pay using Ethereum (ETH) it is possible to switch easily. It is ideal to load your wallet with the money you wish to pay in, but that's impossible in advance when you decide to make a purchase.

2. Connect their wallet on your site

There are two primary methods that customers can link their wallets with your website: the QR code, or the browser's wallet connect. The payment processor for cryptos might offer one or both of these as choices.

QR code

This method is ideal for customers who have their crypto wallet as an app on their phone. When a person decides to make a payment with crypto, they're presented with the QR code which is scannable using a utility in their wallet application for crypto.

The browser wallet is connected to your account

This route is best for users who have access to their crypto wallet via an extension for their browser on the web. If someone opts for this method is prompted to connect to their Web3 wallet using an icon, which opens the wallet in the browser and then asks for the authorization needed for connection.

3. Pay the amount and you will receive a confirmation.

Whichever route the customer follows it will give them prompts to guide them to pay a bill - via the app or the browser.

When payment is received the payment may be delayed. There is an indefinite delay (usually only seconds) until payment confirmation through the blockchain. Once this is done, you and the recipient are both notified of the confirmation. Where transactions are made via blockchain, you might be both issued a blockchain transaction ID.

And that's it!

What exactly do these procedures translate to retailers?

There's a big difference between a customer who's experienced with crypto and prepared to make a purchase or transaction, and someone who's not used cryptocurrency before. Setting up the right crypto wallet, financing it, and knowing how to process the transaction are all obstacles to the entry point.

At first, most crypto payments are likely to be made by more knowledgeable crypto users. In time, the number is expected to grow substantially. If your fans or customers have expressed that they are interested in cryptocurrency It could be beneficial to direct them to reputable sites so they'll be able to understand how to make payments to you the way they prefer.

Advantages of cryptocurrency payment options to your customers

1. They have crypto, and they would like to use it! Maybe they've been the first investor to invest, or they're an excellent trader, or get their money in crypto.
2. It's more affordable for customers to make direct payments to crypto instead of paying exchange or charges for forex transactions in traditional payment methods. This can be particularly true in the case of international clients.
3. They may not have access to alternative payment options.
4. It is possible that they would prefer to keep certain transactions confidential or keep them separate from other activities in their financial accounts.
5. They feel it's more convenient and safe.
6. They value being able to transact without paying fees to traditional financial service providers (i.e., they're ideologically-driven).
7. There aren't any limits on everyday payment amount - this particularly applies to expensive, luxurious items that might exceed a person's daily bank limits.
8. The buyer is paying for a digitally native asset, such as an NFT.

Customer considerations to bear in the mind of

It is evident that there's a wide range of choices when it comes to cryptocurrency payments based on a user experience. There are a few points to keep in mind when choosing as well as operating cryptocurrency payments:

1. What is the easiest way for your clients to pay? What are the best payment methods? which cryptocurrency?
2. Do your customers get exposure to crypto network fees directly? This can make it more expensive for them to pay if a crypto network is very active.
3. Are you confident about dispute resolution? This is especially important when there's the absence of the traditional refund and chargeback options. Frustrated or unhappy customers tend to be more likely to complain and post bad reviews.
4. How long do customers need to wait for order confirmation? If you're not allowing customers to pay the order, they might have to wait longer than they normally do. This is why using a payments partner can aid, since they often keep both fees and confirmation times very low.
5. Are shoppers in need of an education? The customers may be interested in learning the ways to pay using crypto. They also need advice regarding security and how to avoid scams.

Let your clients know that you are here to assist them in embracing the new world of payment

Merchants can choose crypto payment processing methods that are straightforward and familiar. Customers, on the other hand, have a different payment experience.

The world is full of millions of people that are currently eager, ready and able to make payments using crypto. Although crypto-based payment methods are getting easier and more straightforward but it's important for merchants to understand the experiences of their customers and the implications of their decisions so that they can make the most of this new growth opportunity.