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According to Dash Core Group’s CEO Ryan Taylor, online merchants would be “crazy” to not accept Dash payments.

I’m often asked… “why should we accept Dash for our online store?” The benefits are huge. You’re crazy if you don’t! And you should give discounts to encourage customers to migrate! — Ryan Taylor (@RTaylor05) July 21, 2019

In a recent thread on Twitter, Taylor outlined some of the main drawbacks with using traditional payment systems such as credit cards, concluding that it would be “crazy” to not accept Dash for an online business. He highlighted how accepting digital currency payments can significantly reduce charges on the merchant, enough for them to still profit after offering significant discounts:

“According to Javelin Research, online merchants allocate as much as $5-$6 of every $100 in sales to fraud detection. This is in addition to chargebacks on invalid card transactions and card processing fees. Both consumers and merchants would be economically better off to pay in crypto with lower costs to both parties. Consumers should get 5% discounts and merchants would get higher net margins.”

Taylor added that another hidden cost of checking payments for fraud, something that significantly slows down payments, and would not be an issue using an instant and secure cryptocurrency such as Dash:

“There’s more… 80-90% of merchants still manually check online transactions for fraud according to CyberSource. This slows down shipping and makes it more likely an order will be canceled before it ships, and negatively impacts the customer experience.”

This research is corroborated by statements by large online retailer Overstock, which claimed that processing cryptocurrency transactions is much cheaper than credit cards, claiming that the company employs 40 members of its fraud department to deal with issues affect card payments. The retailer is known for its early acceptance of, and advocacy for, cryptocurrency.

The no-brainer of Dash payments still faces the volatility hurdle

Dash features instant transactions. So they don’t need to accept any volatility risk for a modest fee. For example, they can have customer payments directly deposited to their USD card at @UpholdInc for a 1.25% fee. Still much lower cost than a credit card. — Ryan Taylor (@RTaylor05) July 21, 2019

The positive prospect of merchants accepting Dash for payments is nonetheless partially diminished by the currency’s present volatility. In 2017, the price rose quickly from a little over $11 USD to an all-time high of over $1,600. Over the course of 2018, the price plunged to a low of $59 by the end of the year, recovering to a recent high of $178 this year, now at $116 at time of writing a month later. These fluctuations, while acceptable to an investor or speculator, are not conducive to running a business, as merchants expecting a stream of revenue may suddenly end up short on bills.

To account for this, conversion options exist to switch Dash to fiat currency after receipt, solving a key merchant adoption barrier. Taylor suggested using Uphold to instantly convert at a 1.25% fee, significantly lower than most credit card processors. While such an avenue still gives partial exposure to the fiat currency system and associated fees, the result is still more reliable and cost-effective than remaining entirely in the fiat system, and removes the volatility risk.

Dash’s use for payments showcased by a growing Latin American presence

The efficiency gains made possible by leveraging Dash payments are reflected in its growing presence in the Latin America region. According to the CEO of regional exchange Cryptobuyer, Dash recently outpaced Bitcoin on the platform as demand from countries such as Venezuela heats up, particularly from large department stores such as Traki which accept Dash for payments. Additionally, Dash active wallets in Venezuela alone have recently hit 10,000 as several coordinated adoption initiatives begin to take effect.