At a glance: Accepting crypto vs. credit cards – Buy K2 incense with Bitcoins
Cryptocurrency is fundamentally different from credit cards. However, they share similarities that are important to businesses. Specifically, they both provide a way for customers to pay electronically, which is convenient for in-person transactions and a necessity for online sales. Buy K2 incense with Bitcoins
A side-by-side comparison illustrates where key differences lie.
Crypto |
Credit card |
|
---|---|---|
Payments |
Payments not required to run through a payment tool. |
Payments must run through a payment processor. |
Fees |
0% if done directly with customer. Can be 1% or so using a payment tool. |
Standard flat rate is 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction, but varies by processor. |
Safety and security |
Little to no responsibility for compliance or fraud. |
Responsibility for compliance and (via fees) for fraud. |
Resolving customer issues |
No legal protections or chargebacks to manage, but you’ll likely need to make clear your own policies. |
Decisions often in the hands of card networks, and they often favor the customer. |
Settlement |
Flexible and fast, but also can be volatile. |
Slower, but likely more stable. |
Regulatory oversight |
Not much now, for better or worse, but stay tuned. |
Stable and uniform, and comes with lots of compliance effort. |
Convenience |
Transactions are comparatively fast, but there are some learning curves. |
Transactions are quick and how-to is well known, but underlying processes can be hairier. |