Top 10 Bitcoin Payment Gateways for 2018

As more people become open to the idea of cryptocurrencies, tokens like bitcoin will gain even wider acceptance than they are currently enjoying.

In fact, there are more retailers accepting bitcoin payments now because of the availability of technology as well as the ease of transactions. Bitcoin payments online or offline are as simple as your regular payments using your debit cards.

For people who intend to use bitcoin for more transactions and retailers who want to receive more of them, there’s the option bitcoin payment gateways that will help make the transactions smoother and faster.

For those who don’t know what a bitcoin payment gateway is, it’s simply a means –usually an available technology- that helps senders and recipients transact with bitcoin.

And when the recipients –in this case, primarily merchants- receive their payments, they often have the option to either accept in their local currency or as bitcoin without any loss in value. This is an incredibly important feature seeing as cryptocurrency tokens are often volatile in nature.

While this technology isn’t yet commonplace, it’s gaining grounds fast and becoming a favorite for retailers, particularly those looking to get into the cryptocurrency game.

With these payment gateways, bitcoins can be quickly converted into local currencies and payments in bitcoin can also be automated. For instance, you can set it up to automatically pay your rents every month, and the landlord will receive the payment in their local currency.

Pros of Accepting Bitcoin Payments

Many retailers are still on the fence about accepting bitcoin payments. This is not surprising seeing as the process can be somewhat overwhelming for those who aren’t tech savvy.

For instance, most mom and pop stores are run by senior citizens who already find the process of using computers for payments challenging. Adding an extra challenge, particularly one that isn’t backed by traditional financial institutions is often too much.

However, when you consider the pros of accepting bitcoin, it’s easy to see how they are missing out on this huge opportunity. Some of the benefits of accepting bitcoins as a retailer, landlord or business person include:

Transaction fees are considerably lower than those charged by banks and other financial institutions.

Retailers can now have access to an even wider customer base, seeing as people can order their products from anywhere in the world –remember bitcoin transcends all geographical borders.

All transaction fees are usually borne by the sender or customer

Completely eliminates the hassle of dealing with local exchange rates as they don’t have to exchange anything.

This is an extra payment option. As a business person, this will translate into more sales for you because it eliminates one more obstacle preventing potential clients and customers from buying from you.

Monthly bank charges are drastically reduced because you don’t have to depend on their payment processors and services anymore. Most payments by banks attract a fee, which can become pretty big when you process a lot of orders.

All transactions details are forever recorded and impossible to alter. So, if there’s any dispute, you can always refer to the blockchain ledger. More importantly, this will go a long way in the prevention of fraud like fraudulent refund requests after product has been opened or damaged.

Transaction time is often fast, which means you will get your money –not a book balance- within 10 or so minutes.

If you’re now convinced about the importance of accepting bitcoin, let’s help make it easy for you by showing you the best bitcoin payment gateways. These are all secure, established payment processing outfits and services with a proven record of keeping your money safe and instantly remitting it to you.

Coinbase

This is currently the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange and boasts of the largest volume of bitcoin exchange as well. So far, it is considered the world’s safest and most secure exchange platform.

This makes it about the most reliable bitcoin exchange service. As a result therefore, it is also a regular exchange platform for fiat currencies too. With its gateway, fiat to bitcoin conversions and vice versa are instant and seamless.

Even better, withdrawals are processed immediately, with the funds showing up in your account in 72 hours. The only downside to Coinbase is the service is only limited to a few countries –primarily North American countries for now.

Maybe they’ll open their membership to other countries in the near future. For now though, if you’re resident in North America and want to start accepting bitcoin payments, this is the preferred option.

Coingate

Coingate is a great payment gateway that allows retailers accept bitcoin payments as well as about forty other altcoins too. Retailers can either choose to accept their payments in their local currencies or stay with bitcoin.

It also allows crypto-to-crypto payments, which means buyers can pay with ethereum, which is them converted to bitcoin at your end. Even better retailers can use the mobile app in tracking payments right from their mobile devices, with the payments processed within 60 minutes. The service only charges 1 percent for all transactions carried out on the platform.

AlfaCoins

Another payment gateway, retailers can select their preferred cryptocurrency on this platform. While this works for bitcoin, it also works for ethereum and Litecoin payments.

Transactions in Alfacoins are converted into the retailer’s preferred crypto or fiat currency and a transaction fee of 0.99 percent is charged. This service is available to all but two countries in the world –North Korea and Iran- and allows the withdrawal of funds in the USD or Euros.

Shopify

As one of the leading ecommerce platforms in the world, Shopify has integrated crypto payments into their shopping carts, thus making it possible for merchants to receive their payments in bitcoin.

As we speak, many ecommerce stores on the Shopify platform are currently accepting bitcoin payments. The setup process is easy on this platform and can be done in a few hours. All it takes or requires is a merchant account with them.

Bitpay

Another leading cryptocurrency exchange platform, Bitpay offers a payment gateway service that allows retailers and merchants accept bitcoin payments easily and effortlessly. Users who sign up enjoy zero transaction fees for the first $10k transactions.

After that, all transactions attract a 1 percent transaction fee. While Bitpay is great, its use is only available to residents of about 38 countries. These are the only countries where they can take direct deposits from. Visit their site to see if your country is on the list.

GoCoin

This is an excellent payment gateway that offers its users a simple way to integrate their stores and carts. Its plugins can be easily integrated with many ecommerce platforms, thus making it a favorite among merchants.

This payment processor offer a world class customer support and has great reviews. As with all other services, they charge a 1 percent fee on all transactions. Merchants though, can only withdraw their funds in dollars.

BitcoinPay

This service is primarily targeted at EU residents and offers the lowest transaction fees in the industry. Right now, they only charge a 0.80 percent transaction fee and offer withdrawals in Euro, ESD as well as a few other local currencies in the European Union.

Payments can be made to retailers’ bitcoin wallets as well as direct to their banks using the platform. BitcoinPay can be easily integrated into most ecommerce platforms, making it the perfect bitcoin payment processor for merchants residing in Europe. Withdrawals are also processed quickly and available to the merchant within 48 hours.

Gourl

This is perfect for the unbanked merchant who also wants to partake in the new global economy. With Goulr this payment processor, all you need is a bitcoin wallet or debit cards.

Transactions carried out through this processor are often highly anonymous, making it popular among bitcoin users who love their privacy. Payments are available to retailers within a minute of the senders executing the transfer. The cons though include a relatively higher transaction fee as well as no direct bank transfers.

Spicepay

If your business is dependent on Paypal for survival, you really should check this payment processor out.

Their payment processor integrates easily with all online stores and their charges are at the industry standard of 1 percent. If you’re looking for a PayPal alternative that accepts bitcoins, this is it. It also accepts payment in other cryptos like ethereum and Litecoin.

Spectrocoin

This is great for merchants looking for even more flexibility and payment options regarding cryptos. It offers a bitcoin debit card and mobile wallet, thus making it easy to receive and make bitcoin payments on the go.

It can be easily integrated into most online shopping platforms, thus making it a good option for retailers. Bitcoin payments on this platform are instant and conversion to preferred currency is fast.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, these bitcoin payment gateways are designed to improve the ease of doing business as well as open up new frontiers for retailers and merchants who want to make more money.

All of these payment gateways have standard military grade encryption technology that ensures that all transactions on the platforms are secure and protected. If you are looking for the best bitcoin payment gateways, this list is all you need.