To stay one step ahead of competitors, every business needs to make sure it’s keeping up with new developments. And in recent years, one of the biggest innovations has been cryptocurrency. Crypto payments for shops are no longer considered just a novelty or investment trend — they’ve become an alternative and valid means of payment, gradually moving from a niche market into the mainstream.

If you have a shop and haven’t considered cryptocurrency, this guide will help you to understand how to get started and set up.

Why Accept Cryptocurrency?

You may already be successful and questioning whether there’s really any need to make changes to incorporate cryptocurrency. The truth is that even if you’re doing OK now, if you don’t adapt and keep up, customers will turn to your competitors instead.

It’s already becoming commonplace for shops to accept cryptocurrency. Everything from holiday listings to the Home Depot weekly ads now accept crypto. It’s interesting to note that Home Depot was amongst the first retailers to take crypto for payment. Their unique selling point now is that customers can essentially build their houses using crypto, and they’ve made great strides.

Although it takes some planning and research to get started, accepting cryptocurrency offers many benefits. And it’s not just about keeping up with other shop owners. Crypto payments for shops offer clear advantages. Since cryptocurrency isn’t centralised, there are no high costs for processing payments. Unlike credit cards, this allows you to accept even small transactions without extra fees. The blockchain technology used in crypto is irreversible. It works almost like a cash transaction. This protects your shop from scams where customers might try to get refunds through false claims. Cryptocurrency also offers anonymity. For customers who value data privacy, this is important. It helps you reach a much broader audience.

How to Set Up Crypto Payments

Once you’ve identified the benefits of accepting crypto, the next step is checking how you’d go about setting up the payment system in your shop.

If you’re not expecting to have a large number of crypto customers, the easiest way to enable payments is simply to set up your own crypto wallet. This will allow customers to transfer the money directly to you. To make it convenient, you can offer your wallet details in the form of a QR code so that all the customers need to do is scan the code, log in and enter the amount.

If crypto is more likely to become a popular option for your customers, you may want to consider a hardware terminal (POS). You have the option of either investing in a crypto-specific terminal or else integrating crypto compatibility in existing terminals.

There are several companies that offer a variety of POS solutions. Some of the processes include producing QR codes for customers, crypto-card scanning facilities that operate similarly to chip and pin, and Bluetooth/NFC transfer technology.

The great thing about these companies is the convenience. They’ve already done all the hard programming work. Once you sign up, they’ll guide you through the process step by step. Finally, remember that crypto prices are highly volatile. It’s best to price everything in fiat currency. Simply link your regular bank account to your crypto wallet to convert payments when needed.