As technology advances and new developments start appearing in the digital space, how do WordPress sites evolve to keep up? With the introduction of new currencies like Bitcoin and the other Cryptocurrencies, how will WordPress site users be able to easily and seamlessly integrate these payment methods into their site and how does that impact their business? Lucky WPEzi is here with the facts and processes to make adding Cryptocurrencies as payment methods easy and take the stress out of understanding the logistics of bringing your site into the new digital age.
What is Bitcoin?
According to Investopedia, Bitcoin is a digital currency created in 2009 and offers the promise of lower transaction fees than traditional credit card and other online payment methods. The currency is not a hard currency like government issued currency and are not backed by banks, reserves or governments. Bitcoin can however be exchanged for traditional currencies, you will need to make sure you have a Wallet to store Bitcoin in and depending on your intended use for the coin you can then trade it for your local currency or use it to purchase items instead.
Before we explore the ‘How’ of installing means to accept Bitcoin, let’s discuss the ‘Why’.
Why Accept Bitcoin?
What are the benefits of Bitcoin for small business? Whilst large multinational companies like Microsoft have started accepting Bitcoin for payments, why should a small business take on that risk?
Investment Mechanism
Even though you need special items for holding Bitcoin like a Wallet, a digital address that stores your currency, it is still an investment possibility. Bitcoin has constantly grown in the past and so the purchase that was made is likely to increase in value to you if you don’t spend the Bitcoin straightaway.
Lower Transaction Costs
International fees can be a killer for online stores. Not only are they cost prohibitive to the merchant, the customer isn’t interested in paying more for a product because they do not live in the same country. There are no exchange rates involved with Bitcoin and they have a standard fee that doesn’t change based on the customers location.
In addition to no international fees, Bitcoin has lower transaction fees because cryptocurrency isn’t liked to banks or governments and doesn’t need either institution to verify each transaction. Not only does the process lower your costs, the processing time is lightning fast.
Chargebacks a thing of the past
When one common fault of the e-commerce industry is chargebacks or fraudulent refunds, Bitcoin is making a tangible difference to online businesses as the customer pays instantly, and there is no one to force refunds to fraudulent customers. Wasting less of your time as the business owner and less cost to the business in loss of goods, money and reputation.
Higher Conversion Rates
Another positive action being noticed by small and large businesses alike is higher conversion rates. Due to the quick and easy check out system, Bitcoin users are typically converting between browser and customer at higher rates than other payment methods.
Security
We have discussed in previous blogs about security and the importance of keeping your customer’s information safe and secure. Bitcoin transactions provide no personal or financial data and each transaction is protected with a hexadecimal code, limiting the instances of your customer’s data being able to be hacked or misused.
So is it easy to start accepting Bitcoin through your site? We looked at a couple of plugins to install on your WordPress site, so read on for our thoughts.
BitPay
BitPay is a plug in that allows you to accept BitCoin, all you need to do is set up an account. Depending on your industry their transaction fees are reasonable at 1% and significantly lower than those of traditional payment methods. They offer daily settlements and even a Quickbooks IIF download if you use the accounting software. They have even released an app to allow you to manage your wallet on the go, making payments and securing your data against hackers and fraudsters. There is even a BitPay Visa card so you can use your Bitcoin anywhere that accepts Visa. BitPay also gives you a one stop solution for storing your Bitcoin, making and accepting payments, most other providers will only provide the gateway for payment, but not host your wallet. Something to be mindful of if you want to keep everything together.
CryptoWoo Plugin
CryptoWoo accepts over 35 different alternative currencies and doesn’t redirect your customers to a third party payment site. CryptoWoo is a paid for plugin and you may need a Developer to install the plugin and check for compatibility with your site.
TheBigCoin API
The TheBigCoin API boasts fast and easy integration into your WooCommerce site and the lowest transaction fee at just 0.9%. TheBigCoin also talks about accepting Ethereum payments and to your chosen wallet and provides instant payment notifications in addition to all of the standard features across the other plugins and APIs.
CoinGate Plugin
CoinGate is an extension that allows your WooCommerce site to start accepting Bitcoin as well. A fully automated system, once set up is complete, you need do nothing else. There are no set up or recurring fees, except the 1% flat fee per transactions and you can choose the currency your payments are made in.
Once you have decided on your payment gateway method, it’s time for installation. This may seem daunting but the process is pretty simple and each different plugin or API will generally have its own support team that can help you install the plugin or help you out if you get stuck. We will now walk you through the steps in installing the BitPay plugin.
BitPay
If you do not already have an account with BitPay you will need to set one up. Simply head to the BitPay site and select the Start Now button. You will need to start with a Business account to be able to accept payments from customers. Simply complete the business details on the next page and create your account.
You will now need to confirm your email address and verify your business as well as add either a bank account or bitcoin address so that customer payments can be sent to you. Once this is done, you have two methods of installing the plugin. One method is more suited to those not running an e-commerce site who may want to ask for donations. That’s not our purpose, so we will be running with method two for e-commerce sites.
Once your account is set up you can go to your Admin area and select Plugins, then Add New, Search Plugins and search for BitPay. Select the BitPay for WooCommerce and select install then activate. Once your installation is complete you can configure your plugin.
To configure the plug in, you will need to pair it with your BitPay account; once you have generated a pairing code, you have 24 hours to use it before you need to generate a new one, so best to do it while you have both your WooCommerce site and BitPay account open.
Login to your BitPay account and select the Payment Tools option. From here you will need to select Manage API Tokens and then Add New Token. This will generate your 7 digit pairing code. Once you have your code, copy it and open you WordPress site to the Admin Panel and select Plugins then Settings for the BitPay. Here you will have a field for API Token, and you will paste your 7 digit code here. Select Save and your shopping cart should now have a Bitcoin payment option.
If you run into any trouble, please let us know, the WPEzi team are happy to provide WordPress support, whether you are a regular customer or it’s a one off issue. Contact us via live chat today, it’s just in the bottom corner.
As technology advances and new developments start appearing in the digital space, how do WordPress sites evolve to keep up? With the introduction of new currencies like Bitcoin and the other Cryptocurrencies, how will WordPress site users be able to easily and seamlessly integrate these payment methods into their site and how does that impact their business? Lucky WPEzi is here with the facts and processes to make adding Cryptocurrencies as payment methods easy and take the stress out of understanding the logistics of bringing your site into the new digital age.
What is Bitcoin?
According to Investopedia, Bitcoin is a digital currency created in 2009 and offers the promise of lower transaction fees than traditional credit card and other online payment methods. The currency is not a hard currency like government issued currency and are not backed by banks, reserves or governments. Bitcoin can however be exchanged for traditional currencies, you will need to make sure you have a Wallet to store Bitcoin in and depending on your intended use for the coin you can then trade it for your local currency or use it to purchase items instead.
Before we explore the ‘How’ of installing means to accept Bitcoin, let’s discuss the ‘Why’.
Why Accept Bitcoin?
What are the benefits of Bitcoin for small business? Whilst large multinational companies like Microsoft have started accepting Bitcoin for payments, why should a small business take on that risk?
Investment Mechanism
Even though you need special items for holding Bitcoin like a Wallet, a digital address that stores your currency, it is still an investment possibility. Bitcoin has constantly grown in the past and so the purchase that was made is likely to increase in value to you if you don’t spend the Bitcoin straightaway.
Lower Transaction Costs
International fees can be a killer for online stores. Not only are they cost prohibitive to the merchant, the customer isn’t interested in paying more for a product because they do not live in the same country. There are no exchange rates involved with Bitcoin and they have a standard fee that doesn’t change based on the customers location.
In addition to no international fees, Bitcoin has lower transaction fees because cryptocurrency isn’t liked to banks or governments and doesn’t need either institution to verify each transaction. Not only does the process lower your costs, the processing time is lightning fast.
Chargebacks a thing of the past
When one common fault of the e-commerce industry is chargebacks or fraudulent refunds, Bitcoin is making a tangible difference to online businesses as the customer pays instantly, and there is no one to force refunds to fraudulent customers. Wasting less of your time as the business owner and less cost to the business in loss of goods, money and reputation.
Higher Conversion Rates
Another positive action being noticed by small and large businesses alike is higher conversion rates. Due to the quick and easy check out system, Bitcoin users are typically converting between browser and customer at higher rates than other payment methods.
Security
We have discussed in previous blogs about security and the importance of keeping your customer’s information safe and secure. Bitcoin transactions provide no personal or financial data and each transaction is protected with a hexadecimal code, limiting the instances of your customer’s data being able to be hacked or misused.
So is it easy to start accepting Bitcoin through your site? We looked at a couple of plugins to install on your WordPress site, so read on for our thoughts.
BitPay is a plug in that allows you to accept BitCoin, all you need to do is set up an account. Depending on your industry their transaction fees are reasonable at 1% and significantly lower than those of traditional payment methods. They offer daily settlements and even a Quickbooks IIF download if you use the accounting software. They have even released an app to allow you to manage your wallet on the go, making payments and securing your data against hackers and fraudsters. There is even a BitPay Visa card so you can use your Bitcoin anywhere that accepts Visa. BitPay also gives you a one stop solution for storing your Bitcoin, making and accepting payments, most other providers will only provide the gateway for payment, but not host your wallet. Something to be mindful of if you want to keep everything together.
CryptoWoo accepts over 35 different alternative currencies and doesn’t redirect your customers to a third party payment site. CryptoWoo is a paid for plugin and you may need a Developer to install the plugin and check for compatibility with your site.
The TheBigCoin API boasts fast and easy integration into your WooCommerce site and the lowest transaction fee at just 0.9%. TheBigCoin also talks about accepting Ethereum payments and to your chosen wallet and provides instant payment notifications in addition to all of the standard features across the other plugins and APIs.
CoinGate is an extension that allows your WooCommerce site to start accepting Bitcoin as well. A fully automated system, once set up is complete, you need do nothing else. There are no set up or recurring fees, except the 1% flat fee per transactions and you can choose the currency your payments are made in.
Once you have decided on your payment gateway method, it’s time for installation. This may seem daunting but the process is pretty simple and each different plugin or API will generally have its own support team that can help you install the plugin or help you out if you get stuck. We will now walk you through the steps in installing the BitPay plugin.
If you do not already have an account with BitPay you will need to set one up. Simply head to the BitPay site and select the Start Now button. You will need to start with a Business account to be able to accept payments from customers. Simply complete the business details on the next page and create your account.
You will now need to confirm your email address and verify your business as well as add either a bank account or bitcoin address so that customer payments can be sent to you. Once this is done, you have two methods of installing the plugin. One method is more suited to those not running an e-commerce site who may want to ask for donations. That’s not our purpose, so we will be running with method two for e-commerce sites.
Once your account is set up you can go to your Admin area and select Plugins, then Add New, Search Plugins and search for BitPay. Select the BitPay for WooCommerce and select install then activate. Once your installation is complete you can configure your plugin.
To configure the plug in, you will need to pair it with your BitPay account; once you have generated a pairing code, you have 24 hours to use it before you need to generate a new one, so best to do it while you have both your WooCommerce site and BitPay account open.
Login to your BitPay account and select the Payment Tools option. From here you will need to select Manage API Tokens and then Add New Token. This will generate your 7 digit pairing code. Once you have your code, copy it and open you WordPress site to the Admin Panel and select Plugins then Settings for the BitPay. Here you will have a field for API Token, and you will paste your 7 digit code here. Select Save and your shopping cart should now have a Bitcoin payment option.
If you run into any trouble, please let us know, the WP EZI team are happy to provide WordPress support, whether you are a regular customer or it’s a one off issue.
Contact us via live chat today, it’s just in the bottom right corner.
