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UniPayGateway

September 10, 2021
Written by
James Davis
Written by James Davis
Senior Technical Writer at United Thinkers

Author of the Paylosophy blog, a veteran writer, and a stock analyst with extensive knowledge and experience in the financial services industry that allows me to cover the latest payment industry news, developments, and insights. Read more

Reviewed by
Kathrine Pensatori
Product Specialist at United Thinkers

Product specialist with more than 10 years of experience in the Payment Processing Industry. I help payment facilitators and PSPs solve their various payment processing issues. Read more

Crypto Payment Gateway Solutions: Present and Future

Key Takeaways

  • The emergence of stablecoins, such as USDC, USDT, and BUSD, has mitigated the volatility concerns of cryptocurrencies, making them more viable for transactions and investments.
  • Significant milestones in crypto adoption include Visa’s support for cryptocurrency transaction settlements and PayPal enabling US customers to make purchases with their crypto accounts, signaling a mainstream acceptance shift.
  • The integration of cryptocurrency as a legal tender in countries like El Salvador and its acceptance by major companies and DeFi platforms underline the growing global relevance of crypto payment gateways.
  • While existing crypto gateways like Coingate and Shopify Gateway focus primarily on crypto-only transactions, the need for omnichannel solutions that encompass traditional payment methods alongside cryptocurrencies is increasingly apparent for broader merchant acceptance.

A crypto payment gateway solution is something many companies need and search for. Almost every one of us knows about cryptocurrencies, blockchains, and defi platforms. However, until now, most people considered crypto too volatile and risky. As the realities change, cryptocurrency gateway technologies are on the rise.

The right time for crypto payment gateway technologies

Several modern-time trends signify ultimate relevance of crypto and blockchain payment gateway technologies. The time for crypto gateways has come. We can see the signs in many spheres.

  1. In addition to Bitcoin and Ether, many new currencies have emerged. Particularly, we should mention stablecoins (USDC, USDT, BUSD), protected from fluctuations, thanks to their peg to USD rate. As a result, crypto became a less risky asset and investment instrument.
  2. 2019: Visa credit card network started supporting transaction settlement in cryptocurrency through one of its services.
  3. June 2021: El Salvador’s president announced that his country would be thee first one to support crypto as legal tender.
  4. May 2021: US customers of PayPal got the opportunity to use their crypto accounts for making purchases.
  5. Multiple major companies followed the example of Visa and PayPal and started accepting crypto as payment. These “pioneers” include Starbucks and several large airlines.
  6. Many DeFi platforms have been successfully launched in recent years (in spite of or “thanks to” the pandemic). Most of DeFi solutions are built on Ethereum (UniSwap and others) and BSC (Pancake swap and others) blockchains.

As we can see, crypto is rapidly gaining popularity worldwide. So, development of cryptocurrency gateway solutions is a strategy for payment software companies and gateway providers.

Crypto payment gateway solutions and how to improve them

Coingate, Shopify Gateway, Coinpayments, NOWPayments, CoinsBank are just a few examples of crypto payment gateway offerings. Availability of bitcoin payment gateway features and support of other major currencies allows businesses to accept crypto as payment means. However, most cryptocurrency gateway providers support crypto-only payments. Now, how many businesses are ready to switch to crypto completely? And then, can large PSPs and payment facilitators easily perform merchant funding in cryptocurrency? Basically, in order to accept crypto, merchants, usually, need to go through underwriting process all over again. Even if they already accept credit cards through an existing payment partnership.

Cryptocurrency gateway providers should address the listed gaps in Paymentech development.

Advanced crypto payment gateway solutions are omni-channel ones

The best option for a business that wants to accept cryptocurrencies might be to partner with an omni-channel solution. Indeed, a present-day payment gateway, usually, supports all major payment methods. These are credit card, debit card, direct debit, in-app, and mobile payments (including various digital wallets). All these are target payment methods of most merchants and PayFacs. So, instead of implementing solely crypto payment gateway open-source offerings, they might look for omni-channel solutions. These solutions allow you to diversify your revenue streams and have additional advantages in terms of merchant underwriting.

From the provider’s viewpoint, an omni-channel solution is also more lucrative than a cryptocurrency-centered model.

To summarize

         Crypto payment gateway solutions are the reality of the present and the near future. Open-source cryptocurrency payment processor or gateway model works best as a part of an omni-channel solution. In this case your payment gateway offering suits both merchants and PayFacs, accepting crypto as one of the payment methods.

United Thinkers is currently adding cryptocurrency support features to its omni-channel solution. UniPay Gateway solution will support stablecoin payments and authorizations in other currencies, including Bitcoin and Ether. You are welcome to contact us and learn how our omni-channel solution can work for your business model.

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