Using Magento for your eCommerce site helps leverage the power of open source for various things such as payment methods and gateways. As a merchant, you can offer your products and services anywhere and get paid in cryptocurrencies.
As a standard practice, Magento lets you accept payments through credit cards, accept PayPal by creating a PayPal buy button with adequate integration, and even cryptocurrencies. You need to use the right payment plugin for Magento (1 & 2) that enables bitcoin, XEM, Dash, and other altcoins to be accepted as a mode of payment.
For instance, with Magento 2, you get a built-in payment gateway that accepts bitcoin. Entrepreneurs worldwide are banking on the crypto community that has witnessed a dramatic increase over the last few years.
If you are all set to get the cryptocurrency payments in the Magento store, you need to consider the following aspects to get started.
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Using a Cryptocurrency wallet
There are many methods to have your Magento-based ecommerce businesses take advantage of the new payment options offered by cryptocurrencies. For example, you may consider using external payment processing platforms or creating custom wallets and exchange accounts.
Moreover, it is also possible to use plug-ins and modules created particularly for this reason to enable crypto payments. For this, you have the option to integrate third-party payment gateways if creating your own ecommerce and cryptocurrency payment procedure is too time-intensive.
Third-party providers like BitPay, Coinbase, CoinGate, NOWPayments, and others can manage your bitcoin transactions.
Opting for such a payment mechanism will need you to consider the following:
- First, third-party processors can turn your Bitcoin into cash. In this method, you may be able to protect yourself from the market's volatility. And, in case you want to hold and earn interest on Bitcoin, consider opening a bitcoin savings account.
- Most of the ecommerce systems come pre-integrated with bitcoin processors. For example, retailers using Shopify or BigCommerce may enable a crypto payment option straight from their admin panel.
- Additionally, Magento merchants may need to install a related plugin or establish an API connection to the appropriate processor.
Using services offered as Magento modules
Many service providers help you start accepting bitcoin payments using Magento extensions. These will help you accept bitcoin payments, integrate with Magento, and convert them to your local currency. You can then withdraw it to your account at any time.
Now, let us explore some of the well-known solutions you can use for your Magento store.
a. Using BitPay For Magento
Your Magento site can have customers pay using blockchain with the BitPay Checkout Magento plugin. This can be integrated directly into the checkout process for ease of use.
Later, you can have the payouts withdrawn to an external bitcoin wallet or automatically adjusted into your local currency and put into your bank account.
You first sign up for a BitPay account and then install their free Magento extension (make sure to clear the cache).
Next, navigate the following:
Select My Account > API Access Keys from your BitPay dashboard.
When done, click on Save Changes to save your new API key.
Now, to set up Magento, you'll need the API key saved initially.
Next,
Go to System > Configuration > Sales > Payment Methods in your Magento admin.
Then, click and explore the bitcoins area.
Keep the 'Enabled' option set to 'Yes' to activate such a payment method. And then, enter the API key you generated above. Later, you can click on Save Config to commit the changes.
Integrating direct checkout with Bitpay's Magento extension lets your consumers pay using their desired cryptocurrency. Your Magento shop can accept bitcoin and more than 50 other coins. Besides Bitpay, you also have CoinGate as a third-party payment option for cryptocurrencies.
b. Using CoinGate
Payment gateway CoinGate has grown to be one of the most widely used (over 2,00,000 users) platforms for eCommerce businesses since 2014. CoinGate successfully handled more than 6000 merchants in 2021, with a 58% increase in total paid orders.
As a Magento 2 user, you get CoinGate's payment plugin. Also, there are no setup or membership costs to try the CoinGate gateway for cryptocurrency on Magento.
Instead, you are charged for every transaction at 1.3%. For instance, if the customer pays $100, you earn $98.7 after $1.3 (equivalent in bitcoins or currency that the customer paid) is deducted. To use the plugin, you must create an account on CoinGate.
Magento 2 extension features:
- CoinGate processes bitcoin automatically. You can simply set it up once and forget about it.
- You will also get quick updates on the payment confirmations and order processing.
- Leverage its ability to accept over fifty different types of cryptocurrencies that your consumers may use to pay for your products and services on the Magento site.
- Use any local currency to set your pricing — the payment amount is determined in cryptocurrency based on real-time exchange rates.
- You can extend the invoice expiry period to 24 hours.
- In case of a payment failure, refunds are promptly sent from the settled invoice.
- Decide which cryptocurrencies will be paid out in which currencies.
c. Using Coinbase
You can accept payments in bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum using Coinbase exchange. It is one widely used exchange for purchasing and selling alternative cryptocurrencies.
Using various merchant-focused technologies like Magento 2 features with the Coinbase integration is possible. It offers a cryptocurrency module that helps your Magento 2 website accept bitcoin payments. It has features that benefit both merchants and customers (with a range of cryptocurrencies).
As a bonus, Coinbase allows users with active accounts to set up bitcoin transfers on a recurring basis. The plus side is that there is no transaction or monthly fee for funds not converted into your local currency. On the other end, exchanged funds incur a 1% transaction fee after the first $1 million.
You can choose Coinbase as your payment partner for accepting payment in cryptocurrencies as it offers the following:
- Magento 2 integration ensures that most ecommerce bitcoin transactions are in just a few seconds.
- No chargebacks; minimizing chances of online fraud.
- Since all payments are initiated daily, you can expect to get funds deposited in 2-3 business days.
- You can issue refunds to customers who made payments through bitcoin using a simple Coinbase API call.
First, register for a Coinbase account, and then install the Magento module (free). This will let you implement a payment gateway into your Magento site. Visit here for Magento2. Then, flush the cache.
In your Magento admin setting, navigate to;
System > Configuration > Sales > Payment Methods and explore more on the Coinbase section.
You can begin by creating an application using your Coinbase account. Ensure that the system settings section includes a convenient link to do so.
Over to you
One of the ways to drive more conversions on your site involves offering more payment options to your buyers. With the rise in cryptocurrencies and their worldwide acceptance, your Magento site can consider any of the ways mentioned above.
You can integrate the cryptocurrency payment gateway that benefits you the most as a merchant. Also, consider various norms before accepting bitcoin or any other such coins. It is because the IRS made a significant judgment in 2014, treating bitcoin as property for tax reasons.
If a business decides to take bitcoin or another cryptocurrency, the fair market value at the time of receipt must be used to calculate the gross revenue to be reported. Bitcoin transactions are liable to a capital gains tax every time they are sold, purchased, or used.
Customers may now use bitcoin to pay for their items after installing a Magento payment plugin and following the installation instructions. Begin registering on any of the accounts, get an API key and your choice of Magento 2 plugin to get started accepting cryptocurrency payments.