In this Article
Max Frilot delves into Merchant Acquiring and the realm of payment processes; including the changes brought about by cryptocurrencies. Find out more about these concepts and also how we can help your business achieve a greater audience with MK Fintech Partner’s expertise!
Merchant Acquiring and Payment Processes Explained
The concept of merchant acquiring may simply be known as a variety of services used to execute and process payments for a company or merchant and is typically conducted via means of credit or debit cards. The acquirer has the duty to receive card transaction details from the terminal of a merchant and forward them to the card issuer for authorisation to complete the transaction process.
How Cryptocurrencies Have Changed Merchant Acquiring
With the novel introduction of cryptocurrency into the economy, it is undeniable that several aspects of payment processing will have to incorporate digital currency to accommodate people’s needs. Merchant acquirers are no exception to this; in January 2014 Overstock.com was the first major online retailer to adopt and accept payments in bitcoin in the U.S.A. Just a couple of months later, the same company was, again, the first to accommodate bitcoin globally.
Ever since then, digital currencies have undoubtedly entered the mainstream, featuring consistent and global use, whereby customers can pay for practically anything with them. "As long as you can get on the internet, you can order and pay in bitcoin," – said Patrick Byrne, founder and CEO of Overstock.
Merchants Accepting Digital Currency as form of Payment Process
There is an ever-expanding number of large companies which accept payments in cryptocurrency. Microsoft, PayPal, Starbucks and Etsy are just some examples of this, but there are countless other big players that are either considering the acceptance of payment in crypto, are in the process of doing so, or that are already doing it.
As reported by a survey from Deloitte, it can be seen that the majority of merchants believe that customer interest in digital currencies will increase significantly in just one year with other reports saying that approximately 75% of merchants have reported consideration and planning to accept payments in stablecoin and cryptocurrency. This data reinforces the idea that the popularity of digital currency is rising and will continue to do so as technology continues to progress, along with the confidence of merchants in the adoption of digital currency.
The Benefits of Paying Through Digital Currency
The acceptance of cryptocurrency as a form of payment provides several benefits to companies and customers alike. More sales can be generated through accommodation of a wider spectrum of payment types. Additionally, online transactions are made faster and easier, international selling is highly simplified due to ease in currency conversion, and payment processing fees are relatively low in comparison with other payment types. All these aspects arguably help facilitate the most sophisticated and simple version of the online transaction process as we know it.
Continued education, along with a wider perspective on the topic, will facilitate regulatory oversight that can eventually develop into a wider mainstream incorporation of payments in digital currency. The trend indicating that digital currencies will be used for everyday payments is undeniably upward and is widely expected to continue to markedly rise.
Merchant acquirers are thus bridging the gap in response to the growing demand from retail shops to accept crypto. Subsequently, merchant acquirers are facilitating the payment process by applying the technology required to process crypto payments. This inevitably results in a domino effect: more and more merchants and users will start adopting crypto payments as more and more demand is created for it (both from the merchants and users themselves).
How Can We Help?
Are you also interested in taking this leap? Do you need help getting set up in order to start accepting cryptocurrencies as a means of payment? If so, get in touch with us for specialised assistance.
More about MK Fintech Partners Ltd.
Michael Kyprianou Fintech Partners Ltd is a Maltese licensed VFA Agent (virtual financial assets agent) composed of a team of dedicated experts who provide services such as advisory, licensing and registrations of activities related to Fintech, Crypto, Blockchain, Investment and other ancillary services including accounting, company incorporations and banking. MK VFA Fintech Partners is an entity that forms part of the group of companies belonging to the Michael Kyprianou Advocates & Legal Consultants. Michael Kyprianou is a top-tier International Legal Consultancy Firm with offices in various jurisdictions such as Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Malta, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and United Kingdom (London). The firm is top ranked in the Legal 500 and Chambers and other legal directors. According to Gold Magazine, the law firm MICHAEL KYPRIANOU & CO LLC has been ranked as the 2nd largest law firm in Cyprus.
The content of this article is valid as at the date of its first publication. It is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter and does not constitute legal advice. We recommend that you seek professional advice on a specific matter before acting on any information provided. For further information, please contact us at MK Fintech Partners via email at infomalta@kyprianou.com or by telephone +356 2016 1010.
