MULTIPLE REASONS TO ACCEPT BITCOIN
Around the world, forward-thinking merchants from small shops to large corporations are joining the Bitcoin trend, with many of them doing so in order to improve cash flow by cutting costs and boosting their bottom line. But, is doing business in Bitcoin a worthwhile endeavor?
We’ve put together a list of some of the main benefits that you could experience from accepting Bitcoin payments.
LOWER TRANSACTION FEES
If you’re hoping to reduce costs, accepting Bitcoin payments is definitely worth trying since per transaction fees for accepting this currency tend to be cheaper than those for conventional credit or debit cards. According to Adam White, Coinbase’s director of business development and strategy, this is the one main reason why many smaller businesses are joining the bitcoin payment trend. On average, small businesses tend to pay higher credit card fees than the bigger companies, since they lack the scale needed to negotiate the cheaper rates. Because of this, Bitcoin is often an easier and cheaper alternative.
GET PAID QUICKLY
Getting paid on time is important for businesses of all sizes, but no more so than for small businesses, which often rely on prompt invoice payments in order to maintain a positive cash flow and stay afloat. Along with using an invoice factoring company such as BlueVine to keep the payments coming in, accepting Bitcoin payments can actually make it easier for clients to make prompt payments.
Unlike credit card payments, which are often kept on hold for up to a week or more in case a chargeback is requested, Bitcoin payments tend to arrive in merchants’ bank accounts within just a couple of days, meaning that you could have access to your money a lot faster.
AVOID CHARGEBACKS
One of the biggest advantages of Bitcoin for merchants is that payments made with this currency are final, meaning that there are no chargebacksor returns, unlike when dealing with regular credit and debit card payments. Credit card chargebacks occur when the cardholder disputes a purchase that they have made with the card, often due to reasons such as the item being defective, or perhaps they were a victim of credit card fraud. Either way, credit card chargebacks are both inconvenient and costly to merchants, with a fee set at around $5-15 each.
PREVENT FRAUD
Bitcoin is gaining more and more popularity as an online currency as when a customer pays a company using Bitcoin, they are able to do so without divulging any personal details such as their name, address, date of birth, etc. Unlike when paying with a debit or credit card when this kind of personal data must be given in order for the transaction to be successfully processed, when paying with Bitcoin, customers can do so completely anonymously, giving them a practically fool-proof layer of identity protection that no other payment method can offer.
ACCEPT INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS
If your company has been putting off accepting international payments simply due to expensive cross-border transaction fees, accepting Bitcoin as a payment method could be the answer to your problem. Although going global is great for business, many small independent consultants and online retailers are unable to sell their services or products internationally due to a high cost that they are unable to afford. But, Bitcoin breaks down all these obstacles and borders with much lower transaction fees, allowing businesses to trade internationally and accept payments from anybody, in any part of the world, at just a click of a button.
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Last but not least, accepting Bitcoin as a payment method could lead to increased levels of client and customer satisfaction. With Bitcoin rapidly growing in popularity, it will be unsurprising if over the coming years, businesses will be expected to accept this currency as default. Offering your clients and customers the option to make payments with Bitcoin allows you to give them more choice, and therefore more control over the way they make payments and interact with your business. And, the added layer of protection from fraud and identity theft offered by Bitcoin can make this payment method a very attractive one to online customers who want to be as safe as possible.
If you’re not currently accepting Bitcoin as a payment method, there are many reasons to think about making and accepting transactions in this increasingly popular digital currency.
BITCOINS HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL IN THE NON-PROFIT INDUSTRY.
Do you run a non-profit? Or is your business tied to a local charity? Bitcoins have proven to be a great way to raise awareness for non-profits and even more so used in help funding donations across the globe. Check out this story on how WikiLinks has used bitcoin to help keep public donations alive. Also, read the story of how one olympic team used crowdfunding and bitcoin-like currency to help fund their trip to Sochi.
YOUR BUSINESS WON’T BE EXPOSED TO PRICE VOLATILITY.
There is no question, if you have followed bitcoin over the past few months (or years) the most discussed subject is it price relative to the dollar. From an investment standpoint bitcoin has been a wild ride. Its not rare, but rather quite common to see the price of bitcoin go up or down 20%+ in a single day. Its for that reason alone business owners fear bitcoin. If you sell a good or service for say $100 USD as a business owner you want to make sure you receive $100 USD. The thought of accepting payment in bitcoin and finding out the next day your bitcoin is only worth half of its value is a completely legitimate reason to stay away from bitcoin. Fortunately this problem is easily solved. Going back to those companies mentioned above: BitPay.com & Coinbase.com both allow businesses to set a process to convert bitcoin to USD INSTANTLY. What that means to a business is the instant you receive a payment in bitcoin, the software converts your bitcoin into US dollars. So when you accept a payment of $100 USD in bitcoin, regardless of the price fluctuation you will receive $100 USD. As a business you take on zero price volatility risk. ADDING BITCOINS CAN HELP RECONNECT WITH PAST OR EXISTING CLIENTS.
Aside from the functionality of what a bitcoin can do for your business, adding bitcoin as a payment option provides a great opportunity to connect with past clients. A quick email blast is a great way to take a moment to share your business’s current vision as well as where you see your business going in the future. Adding any philosophical reasoning behind this as Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne did is just icing on the cake. When was the last time your company shared its vision with your clients?
ADDING BITCOIN PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME AN INDUSTRY LEADER OR LAGGER.
Lets be honest here for a second… most businesses didn’t add facebook/twitter because they saw the competitive advantage of using social media in its early stages. They added social media channels because “everyone else was doing it.” They are laggers. Bitcoin provides an opportunity right now for all businesses to become an industry leader in their respective field of business. In my humble opinion, ten years from now most businesses will accept bitcoin. I say most because there will always be those guys who are old school, determined to “do it the way we’ve always done it” and refuse to change with the times. Ten years from now there will also be two distinct reasons why businesses decided to accept bitcoin: 1 – “because we saw the competitive advantage” 2 – “because everyone else was doing it” Which of the two statements would you like to associate with your company?
BITCOIN CAN HELP FUEL MEDIA COVERAGE AND RAISE BRAND AWARENESS.
Even if you are in an industry that doesn’t seem like a good fit for a new technology, you’d be surprised the exposure it can receive. Spendbitcoins.com, Coinmap.org and weusecoins.com are just a few of the newest local directories you can list your business on if you begin accepting bitcoins. Local news outlets are also a great point of contact because with bitcoins trending as one of the hottest buzzword in 2014, news channels are constantly looking for a local angle to report on.
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