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Cryptocurrency Ecommerce
Ways to Establish, Costs, and Benefits
ScienceSoft applies 20-year experience in ecommerce and proven expertise in cryptocurrency projects to help e-retailers design and implement reliable crypto payment solutions.
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Cryptocurrency Ecommerce in a Nutshell
Cryptocurrency ecommerce aims to enable online retailers accept customer payments in cryptocurrencies. Depending on their business needs, ecommerce companies can opt for receiving payments in crypto and storing crypto assets for further use or auto-converting payment amounts to the fiat currency and avoid dealing with cryptocurrencies directly.
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Value of Using Cryptocurrencies in Ecommerce
Access to a global and diverse customer base
Cryptocurrencies introduce a fast, convenient, and globally accessible payment option, which helps e-sellers easily reach foreign customers and attract younger audience, primarily millennials and gen Z.
Peer-to-peer payments
Payments can be transferred directly between customers and e-sellers without the involvement of third-party intermediaries, such as governmental entities or financial institutions.
End-to-end traceability of cryptocurrency transactions
Ecommerce companies and their customers can trace the whole history of crypto payments in the immutable blockchain ledger.
Crypto payments verification
End customers e-sign cryptocurrency transactions using asymmetric key pairs. It helps verify the received payments and prevent payment fraud.
Smart contract-based automation
Self-executing protocols (smart contracts) automatically enforce fixed actions related to cryptocurrency payments upon particular events pre-defined by e-sellers. For example, order confirmation and a shipment tracking number can be sent to a customer upon successful payment.
How to Enable Cryptocurrency Payments in Ecommerce
There are three main approaches to processing customer payments in cryptocurrencies, each with its benefits and limitations.
Approach #1
Relying on a third-party crypto payment gateway (e.g., BitPay, CoinGate, Coinbase Commerce) to fully take over crypto payment processing.
Capabilities:
- Accepting customer payments in supported cryptocurrencies.
- Automated conversion to a pre-agreed fiat currency or a cryptocurrency.
- Transferring the processed amounts to the e-seller’s merchant account.
- Scheduled payouts to the e-seller’s bank account.
Benefits: A go-to way to enable customers to pay in crypto and avoid the complexity of setting up the in-house crypto payment processing environment.
Cautions: Complete dependence on an intermediary to receive and process crypto payments, which enhances operational and security risks and leads to extra fees for the middleman services. Also, crypto payment processing functionality and the scope of supported cryptocurrencies is defined by the third party and cannot be changed when needed.
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ScienceSoft recommends: Start with a thorough analysis of the available crypto payment gateway providers to choose the one that offers optimal transaction processing fees, ensure economic feasibility and minimize the costs of relying on third-party services. Within ScienceSoft’s cryptocurrency ecommerce services, we provide our customers with a detailed comparison of possible solutions and assist in choosing the optimal one based on a client’s specific crypto payment processing needs. |
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Approach #2
Embedding crypto payment buttons into an ecommerce platform to ensure seamless payment experience for customers.
Capabilities:
- Enabling customers to make one-click crypto payments without going through a lengthy checkout process and leaving your website.
- Receiving payments in crypto directly to your cryptocurrency wallet.
Benefits: A fast and easy-to-implement solution that doesn’t require direct integration with a payment gateway.
Cautions: You need to have a crypto wallet in place to receive, manage, and store crypto funds. Also, creating fixed price crypto buttons for each stock item may be time- and effort-consuming for e-retailers selling a wide range of products.
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ScienceSoft recommends: You can employ ready-to-use cryptocurrency APIs (e.g., Coinbase API) to facilitate and speed up the creation of crypto payment buttons. |
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Approach #3
Developing a custom crypto payment gateway to leverage maximum flexibility across cryptocurrency ecommerce processes.
Capabilities:
- Unique functionality (sophisticated recurring payments, automatically adjusted prices in crypto, complex business models like pay-as-you-go, etc.) to meet specific ecommerce payment needs.
- Support for all required cryptocurrencies, including custom cryptocurrencies.
- Seamless integration even with legacy ecommerce websites.
Benefits: Fast and cost-effective processing of crypto payments with minimized operational and security risks due to eliminated dependence on third-party intermediaries. A complete control over cryptocurrency payment processing flow.
Cautions: Custom solution design requires more time, plus the responsibility for maintaining and supporting the crypto payment processing infrastructure fully lies on the ecommerce business.
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ScienceSoft recommends: To ensure accurate accounting for crypto assets, consider integrating your crypto payment solution with accounting software to eliminate double data entry on the received amounts in crypto. |
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Key Features of a Cryptocurrency Payment Solution
Cryptocurrency payments processing
- Cryptocurrency payments processing
- Real-time processing of domestic and international payments in cryptocurrencies.
- Support for payments in Bitcoin, Ether, USDT, Ripple, and other crypto coins, including custom cryptocurrencies.
- Automated conversion of the received payments to the user-defined fiat currency or a cryptocurrency.
- Scheduled/ad hoc payouts to the e-seller’s bank account.
- Automated customer notification and payment retry in case of payment failure.
Cryptocurrency transactions management
- Automated validation, timestamping, hashing, and recording cryptocurrency transactions in the blockchain ledger.
- Real-time tracking of customer payments in cryptocurrencies by period, amount, and more.
- An immutable audit trail for all cryptocurrency payment transactions.
- Configurable notifications on received payments in cryptocurrencies.
- Scheduled and ad hoc reports on crypto payment transactions.
Factors Determining the Success of a Crypto Payment Solution
To maximize the ROI of the ecommerce crypto payment solution implementation, ScienceSoft recommends paying special attention to the following aspects:
- System scalability to smoothly accommodate growing crypto payment processing needs associated with gradual increase or periodic spikes in demand.
- Support for a maximum range of popular cryptocurrencies to enable payments in a crypto coin of a client’s choice.
- Automated generation of QR codes that contain data on the e-seller’s crypto wallet address and a selected crypto coin to enable payments by scanning a QR code.
- Focus on security to ensure protection of transferred crypto assets and sensitive financial, customer, and business data by applying multi-factor authentication, data encryption, AI-powered fraud detection, and other cybersecurity algorithms.
Cost Factors for Implementing a Crypto Payment Solution
The cost and timeframe of the cryptocurrency payment processing software implementation vary depending on:
- The chosen approach to crypto payment processing (third-party or in-house).
- The number and types of cryptocurrencies supported.
- The number and complexity of smart contracts.
- The number and complexity of integrations with online selling channels.
- The number and complexity of applications (web, mobile) for merchants to manage crypto payments.
- Scalability, availability, security requirements.
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According to ScienceSoft’s experience, the implementation of a custom cryptocurrency payment solution of average complexity takes up 3–6 months and requires $100,000–$150,000 in investments. |
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Benefits You Get with Cryptocurrency Ecommerce
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Reduced payment processing costs due to eliminated intermediaries, such as governmental entities and financial institutions. |
Faster receiving of funds due to near-instant processing of crypto transactions in the blockchain. |
Minimized risk of payment fraud due to asymmetric encryption of payment transactions. |
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Full visibility into crypto payment transactions due to an immutable audit trail of all crypto payments in the distributed ledger. |
Eliminated human involvement with crypto payment transactions processing due to smart contract-based automation. |
Extended client base due to facilitated access to foreign and younger customers. |
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Increased customer satisfaction with a convenient, fast, and secure payment option. |
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Market-Available Cryptocurrency Payment Gateways ScienceSoft Recommends
BitPay
Best for
Ecommerce businesses operating globally.
Description
- Enabling payments in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, and Binance Coin in 229 countries and territories.
- Support for QR-code-based cryptocurrency payments.
- Open-source plugins for major ecommerce platforms, such as Adobe Commerce (Magento), Shopify, Opencart, Zencart.
- Automated funds transfer to a merchant’s bank account within 48 hours.
- Merchant payout in cryptocurrencies or in fiat currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, and more).
- A two-factor authentication system for crypto payment senders.
Transaction fee
1% of the transaction amount.
CoinGate
Best for
E-sellers that want to provide their customers with a wide range of cryptocurrency options.
Description
- Support for 70+ cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, Litecoin, Ripple, NANO, and more.
- API-enabled integration with merchants’ online selling platforms.
- OOTB plugins for popular ecommerce platforms, such as Adobe Commerce (Magento) and WooCommerce.
- Automated generation of customer invoices and sending them via email or a link.
- Customizable payment buttons (for Bitcoin ecommerce, Ether ecommerce, etc.).
- Merchant payout in natively supported cryptocurrencies or in fiat currencies (USD, EUR).
Transaction fee
1% of the transaction amount.
Coinbase Commerce
Best for
Digital retailers looking to store value and transact in crypto.
Description
- Native integration with Coinbase’s self-custody crypto wallet.
- OOTB integration with Adobe Commerce (Magento), Shopify, WooCommerce, OpenCart.
- Customizable crypto payment buttons.
- Support for payments in Bitcoin, Ether, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dogecoin, USD Coin, DAI, and more.
- Real-time conversion to a pre-agreed fiat currency or a stablecoin.
- Automated reporting of cryptocurrency transactions.
Transaction fee
1% of the transaction amount.
ScienceSoft’s Cryptocurrency Ecommerce Services
Having 20-year experience in digital commerce and proven expertise in building cryptocurrency solutions, ScienceSoft helps ecommerce companies develop robust crypto payment solutions to enable payments in crypto across their online selling channels.
Cryptocurrency ecommerce consulting
- Analyzing your cryptocurrency ecommerce needs and eliciting requirements for a crypto payment solution.
- Suggesting an optimal feature set, architecture design and technology stack for your crypto payment solution.
- Introducing a plan for integration with required software (e.g., an ecommerce website, a crypto wallet).
- Security consulting (auditing your IT environment, suggesting optimal cybersecurity tools to protect the crypto solution and data it stores).
- Delivering an implementation roadmap, including a risk mitigation plan.
Crypto payment solution development
- Cryptocurrency ecommerce needs analysis.
- Architecture design for the crypto payment solution.
- Crypto payment software development.
- Integrating the crypto payment gateway with required software (e.g., an ecommerce website, a crypto wallet).
- Quality assurance.
- Support and evolution of a crypto payment processing solution (if required).
About ScienceSoft
ScienceSoft is an international IT consulting and software development company headquartered in McKinney, Texas. Having 20 years of experience in ecommerce and proven expertise in the development of cryptocurrency solutions, we help ecommerce businesses enable cryptocurrency payments across their online selling channels. In our cryptocurrency ecommerce projects, we employ robust quality management and data security management systems supported by ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certificates.