How to use Bitcoin in business

Cryptocurrency offers a new payment method to businesses and can bring is more customers. In this article, we explain how to use Bitcoin within businesses large and small.

Being the world’s first peer-to-peer currency, Bitcoin has already challenged traditional approaches of completing online transactions. There are a number of reasons businesses should embrace the digital currency and accept the benefits it offers. As larger businesses and companies start to embrace Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies, they are starting to see the impact digital currencies can offer. With the revolution gaining more and more traction, smaller businesses need to start thinking about using Bitcoin so they do not fall behind and lose business.

Decentralised

One of the main reasons to consider using Bitcoin is its decentralised nature. This decentralisation brings many benefits including not having to rely on third parties for transactions. These third parties, or middlemen, include banks and other central organisations. Using banks or central organisations comes with inconvenient high transaction fees that often cause issues for small businesses.

All Bitcoin transactions are approved by miners and instantly added to the blockchain, making the process a lot quicker than using a bank. Bitcoin transactions also come at a much smaller cost and are sometimes completely free. Paying this small fee makes the speed of the transaction much quicker as a business can choose their own fee.

Not having a third party involved also allows transactions to go through without any third-party approval. This process can also take time and cause transactions to be delayed, something that is not ideal when bills need to be paid. All transactions are stored on the blockchain, meaning the business will always be able to keep a record and retrieve any data that may be needed later down the line.

How to use Bitcoin for payment 

So what are the opportunities to use Bitcoin? Bitcoin can also be used by businesses to pay salaries. The more popular cryptocurrencies become, the more employers will start to pay their staff with it. A lot of companies have already begun to do this, such as Victvs. Victvs is an international trading consultancy in Leeds, UK that allows its staff to choose whether they want to be paid in Bitcoin or GBP.

Shopify, a commerce platform which lets companies start, grow, and manage their businesses announced that more than 75,000 merchants on their site have started accepting Bitcoin as payment. Their merchants include clothes shops, jewellers, snowboard companies, home stores, and more.

How to use Bitcoin to avoid fraud

Using Bitcoin in businesses also provides protection against fraud. Using the digital currency allows buyers to complete transactions without the worry of their credit/debit card details being stolen. This in turn boosts trust in the company providing Bitcoin payments. Bitcoin is a completely decentralised currency, meaning all identities and information cannot be stolen or hacked.

With PayPal and other payment systems, transactions are often reversed. A common issue is a request for a chargeback – customers may try and avoid paying for the item they have received by asking the bank for a chargeback. This means if the bank approves this request, the customer receives a refund of the amount they paid for an item, leaving the business out of pocket.

However, Bitcoin payments are irreversible, meaning there is no added risk of payments being reversed by fraudsters or hackers, which is a major benefit to small and large businesses alike.

How to use Bitcoin for cross-border payments

Small businesses often avoid selling their services or products internationally because of the high costs of the cross-border payment system in place with traditional payment methods. Bitcoin solves this issue as it provides businesses with the opportunity to sell products abroad without having to pay the high transaction fees. Bitcoins can be sent and received anywhere in the world almost instantly, with no restrictions and complete ease.

Choosing Bitcoin

From these benefits, we can see the impact Bitcoin can have on businesses- not just the payment opportunities, but the additional security factors also. With all of this in mind, it is important businesses start to embrace the possibilities of cryptocurrency and learn how to use Bitcoin to to ensure they grow and develop in the right direction.

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