Five years ago the businesses accepting crypto payments were only a handful. Just a very limited number of business owners were bold enough to embrace cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, but things have changed dramatically. More and more people are looking to hop on board the crypto trend as they realise it’s more than a fad or a scam.

Cryptocurrencies are here to stay and the faster you adapt to this new type of payment, the better it will be for your company. If one of the richest men on this planet, like Elon Musk, now accepts Bitcoin payments for Tesla cars, he must be on to something.

Here are the benefits of accepting Bitcoin payments and, of course, other major cryptocurrencies.

Fast transactions

Bitcoin and all the other cryptos out there are not issued by any bank or government. Instead, they are produced on a blockchain, a decentralised technology spread across a network of computer systems. Cryptocurrencies are generated on the blockchain and every micro transaction is registered on a distributed ledger.

As opposed to regular bank payments, crypto payments work much faster. The crypto payment is transferred to your digital wallet immediately, whereas for a credit card payment you’d have to wait for a couple of days for the bank to process it.

Irreversible payments

This feature is very important for any business as it protects you against scams. Once a customer sends you some Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency, it is there in your wallet and no one can take it away from you. That’s way better than having some bank withdrawing money from your account when a fraud was detected.

Crypto payments allow eCommerce stores to sell their products or services to anyone in the world, without having to worry they might get scammed.

On the other hand, this is why you need to be extra careful when sending crypto payments. Once you send money to an address (or digital wallet), there’s no way of getting it back unless the owner of that wallet agrees to send it back to you.

Low transactions fee

How many times were you annoyed to see the outrageous transaction fees your bank uses? With crypto payments, transaction fees are minimal. Transaction fees depend on the type of cryptos you decide to accept as they differ from one blockchain to another.

The fees will be different if you use your own digital wallet or third-party services, but in both cases they are significantly lower than the fees used by banks or PayPal.

Larger consumer base

If there’s one thing you need to know about crypto enthusiasts is that they are very loyal. If they can use cryptocurrencies for their online shopping they will be happy to do so. News that a certain online store now accepts cryptos spreads fast in their community and they will prefer to do business with your store rather than with one that only accepts fiat currency (or the money issued by state banks).

Consumer privacy

Another reason many in the crypto world prefer crypto payments is that such transactions offer more privacy than a regular bank transfer. If you use a credit card to purchase something online, the bank will know exactly how much you spent. With a crypto payment, the digital currency goes from one wallet to another. The transaction is registered on the blockchain and anyone with the digital knowledge to do so can check it out. However, what they see is the transfer between two addresses, with no names associated with them. This appeals to many, many people out there, wary of the fact that their spending habits are permanently monitored.

Last, but not least – Cryptocurrencies are still in their infancy and they have a huge growth potential. Any cryptos in your digital wallet might be worth twice as much in a year’s time. The money in your bank account, on the other hand, will be worth less.