Bitcoin is everywhere. If you’re new to Bitcoin and interested in getting into it for yourself, check out this beginner’s guide that should give you a little background. If you don’t already have a Bitcoin wallet set up, I highly recommend checking out the guide as well.
Long story short, Bitcoin (BTC) is a decentralized currency that makes the transfer of money much easier, quicker, and safer. The transfers can also take place entirely online, instantaneously, and without some of the main drawbacks of using credit cards:
- Bitcoin doesn’t have the huge % fees associated with credit cards.
- Bitcoin doesn’t have the huge risk of chargebacks associated with credit cards.
- Bitcoin doesn’t have the huge risk of fraud associated with credit cards.
This makes it ideal for any form of business payment.
Now, stop.
You may be wondering:
If I get paid in Bitcoin, how do I guarantee the value in terms of USD (or other FIAT currencies)?
Well, I’ve got just the system for you!
How do I accept Bitcoin payments in my business?
First and foremost, you need to have a Bitcoin (BTC) wallet set up and a general understanding of what Bitcoin is.
The quickest method to accept payments in Bitcoin is to inform your customers that you are accepting BTC payments and create a receiving address for your Bitcoin Wallet. Then, all you have to do is give a client your receiving address and agree on the amount of Bitcoin for your product/service.
The client can then send that amount of Bitcoin over and it should start processing in the blockchain immediately and you should receive the payment in your Bitcoin Wallet shortly!
However, that method isn’t very automated and can be quite time consuming.
If you are looking for an automated system that also includes invoicing, point of sale (POS) support, and an integrated API, then, I want to introduce you to a platform called BitPay.
BitPay is, by far, the best platform I have found for accepting payments in both BTC and USD (and other FIAT currencies. It allows you to link bank accounts and bitcoin wallets and gives you the ability to take payments in the form of emailed invoices, POS systems, and even custom API integrations straight into your eCommerce site.
When you accept a payment with Bitcoin, BitPay can automatically translate that into a FIAT currency and put it into your bank account based on the current going rate of Bitcoin.
You can also set the % of payment you would like to keep as Bitcoin!
This means that you can accept payment in Bitcoin, keep it as Bitcoin, or transfer all or a portion of it immediately into USD automatically!
I don’t know about you, but I think that is pretty cool.
BitPay also provides some really interesting consumer facing tools that allow you to keep a Bitcoin wallet on your phone and use an actual card to make purchases in USD!
Let’s get set up with BitPay!
First, navigate to BitPay’s sign up page and select Business Account.
Then, fill out your information and hit Create Account.
Next, BitPay will ask you to verify some information and add some accounts.
You will need to verify your email first, then verify your business information and add a bank account.
Now is also a great time to add your Bitcoin Wallet and set up your settlement options.
You can do that by navigating to the Settlement settings page, adding your Bitcoin wallet information, and setting the % of BTC/USD you would like.
Now you are set up for basic payment processing!
However, this basic payment processing platform will only let you process up to $100 a day / $500 a year which is not enough for virtually any business.
There are several account tiers that allow you to have a higher processing volume. First, I will go over increasing that limit to $1,000 a day / $10,000 a year. Then, I will show you how to gain the ability to process even more than that!
Open your settings page and click on Increase Processing Volume
Click Apply for the Tier 1 upgrade.
The system then lets you know that you will need a live website and a valid government issued Business Tax ID. Hit Apply.
First, you will need to verify your business. You can do this by submitting Articles of Incorporation, Business licenses, registrations, bank statements, or a number of other documents.
Then, you will need to verify your EIN. For this, you will need your actual number and your EIN issuance document which was the letter that was sent to you when you applied for your EIN.
That’s it! After approximately 2 business days, you should get verification to jump up to Tier 1 and get the ability to process $1,000 a day / $10,000 a year.
Now, we all know that most businesses do much more than $10,000 a year, so we will have to raise that limit!
BitPay currently offers two plans: Starter and Business.
As you can see, there are a few glaring differences.
The Starter plan doesn’t charge a service fee, but it is limited to 30 transactions a month and $1,000 a day / $10,000 a year. It also doesn’t support most international banks or multi-user access and only supports weekly bank settlements.
The Business plan has a 1% service fee which is much cheaper than the industry standard 2.9% credit card processing fee. However, the business plan supports an unlimited number of transactions and an unlimited $ amount given proper verification. The business plan also offers daily bank payments, payments to most international banks, and multi-user access.
If you’d like increased transaction limits, you can change your account over to the Business plan by visiting your plan settings here.
Once you have changed your account over, you can go back to the Approved Volume verification setting and apply for even higher tiers.
For Tier 2 ($10,000 a day / $500,000 a year), you will need a live website, government issued business tax ID, photo identification of a principal/director/owner, proof of business address, and incorporation documents or business registration.
These are all documents that you should already have if you operate a business.
To upgrade to Tier 3 ($100,000 a day / $5,000,000 a year), you will need all of the above, an Extended Validation SSL certificate on your site, and a link to a return policy visible on your site.
How do I start taking payments through BitPay?
There are a large variety of ways that you can accept payment through BitPay and I highly recommend going through the setup to get started.
As you can see, there are several options that allow you to easily integrate BitPay into any type of business.
You can use BitPay through:
- Point of Sale systems
- Email Billing systems (with support for recurring bills)
- Website integrations
For even more options, or if you would like a more hands on approaching to setting this up, you can also navigate to the Payment Tools section where you can set up catalogs, payment buttons, and more!
And that’s it!
You are now set up to start taking payments in Bitcoin for your business!
Congrats, you and your business are now ahead of the tech curve.
–
Confused about what to do? Excited to start getting paid in Bitcoin? What did you think of this article?
If you have any questions or you’d like help implementing some of these strategies, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me by using the contact form at the bottom of this page.