As cryptocurrency grows and becomes more notorious, small business owners are asking themselves if cryptocurrency is something they should look to accept. Campaigns like #PayWithLitecoin of course help to inform such business owners of this accepting cryptocurrency is important and of course, the name Bitcoin is generally seen as a positive step towards a technological revolution.

Jargon aside though, is cryptocurrency something that small business owners need to branch into right now?

There are inherent advantages to this. You will gain new customers (because arenas in which crypto can be spent are limited) and you might even benefit from the investment too. We see it like this;

Imagine selling an item for half $100.00 BTC, (around 0.016 BTC at the time of writing) but then in a month time the price of Bitcoin has risen significantly and that 0.016 BTC, is now worth $160.00 instead?

It’s free profit, essentially.

Of course, by accepting cryptocurrency payments you could potentially scare off some customers too, especially if your demographic falls outside of those who may be considered ‘tech savvy’. I guess with this you need to be careful, weigh it up. Do you think your standard customer is into cryptocurrency? If so, why aren’t you accepting their Bitcoin or their Litecoin? If you’re not sure, why not ask them?

Small business owners have the advantage of a close relationship with their customers, therefore, make the most of it and ask your customers what they think about crypto . If they aren’t going to spend it, or even think it would put them off using your store, avoid it. On the contrary though, what if you find it actually encourages them to spend more?

You should also consider transaction fees that might mean you do spend a little more money within transactions and settlements. For example, you might pay a fee when converting your crypto profits into your local currency, but surely this is worthwhile if even after those fee’s, you have taken a bigger profit?

As cryptocurrency becomes more popular, more and more small businesses will begin to accept it. If your business is one that will benefit from keeping up with the trends, this is the time to get involved whilst the equipment is cheap and whilst the industry is growing. There’s a chance that one day cryptocurrency could be the norm, as a small business owner, this is something you should consider preparing for.