Bitcoin accepted here: Cryptocurrency payment gateway

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies prices increasing, but as well their adoption. Some of the merchants and businesses are marked on this map. Nowadays, thanks to the technology scaling, Bitcoin payments do not take even minutes to proceed and do not cost high fees as a couple of years ago.

Lightening network

The second layer of Bitcoin called the Lightening network is adopted more and more. Other cryptocurrencies are competing in providing even better solutions on their first layer with huge scaling possibilities comparable e.g. to the VISA network.

Therefore it is understandable that businesses are getting ready for this financial revolution by accepting crypto in their online store using a payment gateway.

Crypto payment gateway solutions

Let’s have a look at the most common crypto payment gateway solutions. Of course, their usage depends on the e-shop technology. Not all will be possible to use at all or not that easily as for WooCommerce e-commerce stores and ordering systems running on WordPress CMS.

OpenNode Payment Gateway

OpenNode payment gateway is simply Bitcoin Payment Processor that allows integrating On-chain Bitcoin payments, but also the lightning network.

With OpenNode you can choose to keep the received Bitcoin or to let it automatically convert to a selected local currency for free.

Issuing invoices in Bitcoin

In OpenNode capabilities is to issue an invoice for the proceeded payments but also on-demand. Simply:

1. Create a custom invoice
2. Send it to your customer as a PDF
3. Get paid in Bitcoin or local currency

OpenNode integration

eCommerce solutions built on these package solutions can have the OpenNode integrated with minimal expenses:

In case your e-shop is running on some other solution or is completely custom, some coding would be necessary. The official code libraries are Node.js and PHP, but solutions for other languages exist as well.

Please, do not hesitate to contact us for help with an integration to your eCommerce solution.

Coinbase Commerce

Business customers of the Coinbase Commerce solution can hold their private keys or choose a Coinbase managed option. Based on this choice, the invoiced crypto has to be converted manually or automatically by Coinbase to a selected FIAT or cryptocurrency.

A good point is the invoices are part of the solution.

Nevertheless, the lightning network is not implemented.

Integration with eCommerce solutions

Regarding integration with eCommerce solutions,

• WooCommerce

• Shopify

are supported by implemented plugins, meaning their setup is straightforward.

Other package solutions or custom-developed stores and systems would require coding using one of the following available libraries:

• Python
• Node.js
• Ruby
• PHP

BTCPay Server

If you are fine with accepting only Bitcoin, then compared to all other solutions mentioned here, the BTCPay server has a couple of significant advantages.

A. There will not be any 3rd party between your business and your customers

B. The other payment gateway services charges around 1% of the fee, the BTCPay server does not

Implementation of a BTCPay server means operating a self-hosted cryptocurrency payment processor. Technically it can be done using the cloud or your own hardware device. Anyway, this is something additional to be set up compared to the other services mentioned here.

Of course, crypto is then received to your own wallet fully under your management.

Good to mention the invoices generating are supported so that you can get notified when they get paid and export them.

BTCPay Server implementation

BTCPay Server payment gateway can be implemented using plugins for these systems:

• Prestashop
• Drupal
• WordPress
• WooCommerce
• Magento

But of course, custom development is here possible as well. The official client code libraries are for C#, Python, Node.js, PHP, and Ruby.

The last but not least, the BTCPay Server supports the implementation of the lightning network, but be aware that this solution is still in an experimental mode, so that exists some risks of losing funds and the development itself can be tricky.

BitPay payment services

One of the solutions, for overall payment services, is BitPay. They provide several functions connecting the business with the crypto world.

Accepting crypto at brick-and-mortar store

This option will allow you to adopt crypto by accepting payments which will be automatically settled to your preferred bank account a day after.

1. BitPay issue an invoice
2. Crypto invoice is locked towards FIAT price and can be paid
3. Crypto payment is then transferred to the local currency
4. Local currency payment is settled to your bank account next day

Accepting crypto payments online

The other option is to integrate a payment gateway to your online store. Your customers can pay using a selected cryptocurrency the same as using the previous BitPay service. Meaning the procedure is basically the same.

Solution integration

The easiest and so that least time and money consuming option is to integrate the BitPay payment gateway using plugins to the eCommerce solutions.

BitPay supports this way:

If you use Shopify, Wix, Foxy, 3DCart, or Blesta, the plugins should be already built-in, so that you only need to connect your Bitpay account.

In case your online store is running on a custom solution the implementation complexity of the payment gateway will vary and needs to be analyzed first.

BitPay supports these code libraries:

In case of consideration a payment gateway for your eCommerce solution, do not hesitate to contact us for help.

BitPay Send

BitPay Send is for businesses that do not want to operate with crypto but need to pay with this asset. It allows them to deposit their local currency payment and BitPay will process it in crypto to the recipient’s wallet.

Supported cryptocurrencies

Currently, BitPay informs about the possibility to accept following cryptocurrencies:

• BTC – Bitcoin
• BCH – Bitcoin Cash
• WBTC – Wrapped Bitcoin
• ETH – Ether
• LTC – Litecoin
• DOGE – Dogecoin

and some USD pegged stablecoins.

BitPay does not support Bitcoin’s lightning network.

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