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How do businesses use cryptocurrency?

Corporate and individual clients were looking for a universal currency that would allow fast transfers with low fees. Cryptocurrencies became the answer to these problems as their increasing value has been appreciated by both parties.

The main advantages of cryptocurrency transactions for businesses

  • Transaction speed — credit card payments can take days or even weeks. Meanwhile, cryptocurrency offers instant transfers.
  • Inflation protection — inflation has caused the value of many currencies to decrease over time. Almost every cryptocurrency is issued at a fixed amount at the time of its launch. For example, there are only 21 million bitcoins issued in the world. Thus, as demand grows, its value will rise, which will keep pace with the market and, ultimately, prevent inflation.
  • No international barriers — cryptocurrency makes international trade more accessible by removing trade barriers and restrictions, which ultimately makes it easier to accept payments in different currencies.
  • Economic transaction mode — one of the main uses of cryptocurrency is sending money abroad. Cryptocurrency offers negligible or even no transaction fees for users.
  • Fraud reduction — a payment made with bitcoins cannot be canceled after it has been processed. Credit card payments can be reversed through chargebacks, which is often used by fraudsters.

Companies that have already implemented cryptocurrency into their businesses

During the last few years, cryptocurrency has been gaining popularity among both investors and retailers. It can be excellent for savings and, therefore, can and should be used to buy goods and services.

  • Healthcare. My Doctor Medical Group accepts payments for medical services in bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.
  • Insurance. Metlife can make immediate payments to pregnant women diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
  • HoReCa products. Coca-Cola Amatil has signed agreements with Centrapay, a digital asset integrator, to allow Australians and New Zealanders to pay for goods at vending machines using cryptocurrency.
  • Retail. Japan's largest online retailer, named "Amazon of Japan," recently added bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies to its payment method and even launched a wallet for them. It is one of the largest online stores that accepts bitcoin.
  • Cellular operators. AT&T is the first major US mobile operator to provide customers with the option to pay with cryptocurrency via BitPay.
  • Gaming platforms. Microsoft is one of the first tech giants to accept bitcoin as the official payment method for some of their top products. Since 2014, users have been able to add bitcoins to their Microsoft accounts and buy everything from Windows 10 licenses to games, movies, and apps from the Windows and Xbox stores.
  • Tourism. Bitcoin.travel is one of the most famous tourism websites that allows travelers to use bitcoins to book vacations and offers flights, hotels, accommodations, and attractions.
  • Car dealers. A large number of BMW dealerships in the UK and US accept bitcoin so that people can buy their next car with cryptocurrency.

Summary. With all of the payment companies, banks, industry leaders, and other businesses accepting cryptocurrency, it's not hard to see why more and more companies are starting to accept bitcoin.

Other ways companies use crypto technologies

Global corporations use not only crypto transactions, but also the technologies underlying cryptocurrencies (in particular, bitcoin) to speed up business processes, increase transparency and, as a result, save billions of dollars in the future.

For example, Walmart uses blockchain to track shipments from suppliers and reduce the risk of product spoilage and contamination. The company has already registered 50 blockchain-related patents.

A hard drive manufacturer Seagate uses the technology to detect and prevent counterfeiting.
As Forbes Deputy Editor Michael del Castillo said4: "Blockchain started out as a way to move bitcoins from point A to point B, but now it is used by many large companies to monitor and move any number of assets around the world as easily as sending an email.

Recommendations for implementing cryptocurrency payments into your business

It is beneficial for businesses to accept any payment method that banks and other providers accept. As bitcoin and cryptocurrencies gain traction, business owners need to make sure they know how to accept them as a form of payment.

Fortunately, cryptocurrency adoption is easy. Here are several ways you can do it.

  • E-commerce. If you own an e-commerce store, most platforms have already established partnerships with payment processors and have existing integrations to allow you to accept crypto payments. If you don't have this, you can add checkout buttons instead or create your own integrations. Shopify, for example, has partnerships with companies like Coinbase Commerce and BitPay. Shopify's help center has a separate page outlining the benefits of accepting crypto for merchants.
  • Physical payments. Payment companies offer both cryptographic payment terminals and APIs to provide integration with your current POS system. The POS system will display an invoice, usually via a scannable QR code, with a fixed amount at the appropriate exchange rate. The client scans the code, signs the payment, and cryptocurrency is transferred from his wallet to yours. All you really need to do is teach your employees to say "cash, credit, or cryptocurrency is accepted here."
  • Customer invoice. Many companies also allow you to send invoices to customers in crypto, usually via email, where you can choose which cryptocurrency you want to be paid in. The client pays the invoice at a fixed exchange rate and, after verification, the chosen cryptocurrency is transferred to you.

As one can see, there are many different ways to accept cryptocurrency, and you can ultimately decide how much you are exposed to crypto based on your comfort level.

Summary

In closing, the number of companies gradually introducing cryptocurrency is growing rapidly every year. Nowadays, you can purchase goods and services with cryptocurrencies anywhere. If not directly from the seller, then through a third-party buyer of a gift card.

While some of these methods are a bit unconventional, they do help make cryptocurrencies more useful today and more accessible for future use.