At this year’s IRCE event in Chicago, one trend we witnessed getting a lot of attention was Bitcoin processing.
While the Ecommerce event showcased a plethora of payment and merchant end-to-end solutions, it was the booths manned by top Bitcoin processors BitPay and Coinbase that garnered a lot of foot traffic from attendees. Besides the cryptocurrency aficionados many interested merchants came to see what supporting the digital currency can offer their online stores.
Both firms boasted the saving aspect of supporting Bitcoin as a payment option. Lower or non-existent fees and the inability to chargeback transactions took center stage when discussing the benefits of BTC support. Another aspect discussed was security of transactions.
According to a representative for Coinbase, many consumers and merchants alike are still somewhat fearful of conducting business in Bitcoin, whether it is because of its questionable history or the non-regulated aspect of Bitcoin. Both Coinbase and BitPay mentioned that when regulations are finally instilled and they become compliant with them, they expect to see a larger adoption rate.
Ease of use from both the customer and merchant’s end also play large part. Long are the days of sending Bitcoin payments “manually” through public and private wallet IDs. The native process is too cumbersome for the majority of consumers and merchants. Offering a PayPal-esk sign in and pay feature simplifies the process allowing for an easier transition.
Being able to receive payments in FIAT in real-time also helps with garnering more supporting merchants. No hassle with converting Bitcoin into traditional tender offers a more seamless approach to Bitcoin acceptance.
While not widely present as other payment solutions at the event, BitPay and Coinbase’s presence was highly noticed. Given the growing popularity and adoption rate, we expect to see more BTC payment solutions being present at future events.
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