As the world of e-commerce continues to grow with more businesses seeking to expand their revenue through the use of an online platform, merchants will continue to adopt Bitcoin as a payment method. For years Bitcoin has been accepted by many large brands such as Shopify, Overstock, and NewEgg but now with the advancements of the Lightning Network, Bitcoin has become an even better payment option than ever before.

How will Bitcoin affect E-commerce? 

Bitcoin is one of the most innovative and revolutionary technologies in the world and has the ability to change how the digital world works. Despite the fact that some consider Bitcoin adoption risky, there are plenty of early adopters in the E-commerce industry that are ready to pave the way for mass adoption. The E-commerce industry suffers from many pain points that come from traditional payment methods but Bitcoin can help reduce these issues for both the merchants and their consumers. 

Bitcoin provides Instant Gratification

The world we live in today is powered by instant gratification, whether it’s ordering food for delivery or adding a new t-shirt to your wardrobe, we want everything done as quickly as possible. With traditional payment methods, speed simply isn’t possible. With multiple intermediaries between merchants and their consumers, payments can take days to clear or settle. When it comes to finding an immediate solution to this problem, Bitcoin is the perfect answer. Unlike traditional payment methods, Bitcoin can be used from anywhere in the world and payment is settled instantly. Instead of waiting for hours, days, or even weeks for a traditional payment to clear, Bitcoin provides a much faster settlement time and gives both merchants and their customers peace of mind knowing that their product or service has been paid for. 

International Payments without headaches 

If you conduct business around the world, you surely understand the headaches that come with collecting traditional payments from around the world. Accepting international payments can come with much higher fees and can take much longer for the payment to settle in your account; leaving you to wait much longer before you can satisfy your customer. What if your potential customer doesn’t even have access to these traditional payment methods, like many people around the world who are living in developing countries that don’t have access to proper banks or financial institutions? Enter Bitcoin. A global digital currency that can be accessed from anywhere using the internet and comes with less fees than traditional payments. 

Lower Fees

As we mentioned earlier, Bitcoin has far lower fees for payment processing and can help you reduce fees on both domestic and international transactions. Traditional payment methods such as Visa or Mastercard must go through various channels with multiple intermediaries and put the responsibility of paying the fees for this transaction on the merchant. By accepting Bitcoin you can remove multiple intermediaries from the transaction and never have to worry about chargeback fraudulent transactions or the fees that come with them. 

Bitcoin provides transparency 

Unlike any of the traditional payment methods that power an e-commerce business, Bitcoin has zero chargebacks. That’s right, zero. All Bitcoin transactions are final and there is no reversing a transaction, which means with Bitcoin you’ll never have to worry about chargeback fraud. By accepting Bitcoin payments, you are showing your customers that your business values transparency and will not be susceptible to fraudulent transactions. 

How does Bitcoin affect marketing your e-commerce business? 

As a new technology with millions of users around the world, Bitcoin has a vast community of users with a wide array of interests and spending habits. As a business, you need to understand that by adding Bitcoin to your business you are opening your store to a global community. 

Free Customer Acquisition

Whenever a business integrates Bitcoin into their accepted payment methods it instantly increases the amount of eyes looking at the business. There are millions of Bitcoin users all around the world that have millions of dollars in Bitcoin but only have so many places to spend it. By accepting Bitcoin, your business can gain a competitive advantage over every other business that doesn’t. The best part about integrating Bitcoin into your business is that it is almost always free to start! That means you can increase the awareness of your brand by attracting new customers who own Bitcoin and not have to pay for any additional marketing fees. Many brands that integrate Bitcoin payments are seen on Bitcoin focused news platforms for integrating Bitcoin into their business and are also featured in online Bitcoin business directories. 

Unique Loyalty Programs 

By accepting Bitcoin at your business you are opening your organization to the opportunity to work with Bitcoin rewards programs. Rebates have been popular for a long time in the e-commerce industry because they are a great way for a business to incentivize their customers to spend more money on their purchase in order to receive rewards for shopping. Offering Bitcoin rewards at your business is great because it gives your business the attention from anyone who is interested in getting Bitcoin. By adding Bitcoin to your accepted payment methods and giving Bitcoin rewards for purchases at your business, you essentially have closed the loop for Bitcoin users — you can give Bitcoin to your customers as a reward for shopping and accept Bitcoin for their next purchase!

As you can see, Bitcoin is the perfect tool for growing every e-commerce business. Accepting Bitcoin payments is a great way to save money on payment processing fees and reduce chargeback fraud at your business. Not only is Bitcoin cost effective, but it’s great for bringing new customers to your business for no additional cost. 

With OpenNode, we make it easy for you and your customers to use Bitcoin. We offer multiple e-commerce solutions that make integrating Bitcoin into your business easy and provide Bitcoin as an alternative payment method at your checkout. With automatic conversions to cash at any time, OpenNode can help you accept Bitcoin at your business without ever having to worry about the price volatility affecting your sale. With simple integrations for many E-commerce solutions like Shopify and WooCommerce, our platform offers an easy way to integrate Bitcoin as a payment option in your checkout.