Now Accepting Cryptocurrencies As Payment for Our Services

This post will discuss the game-changing benefits and pitfalls of accepting cryptocurrencies as method of payment. Specifically how it can help differentiate your company over competitors and what we do with our crypto once we are paid.

We realise we can enjoy a number of benefits of accepting cryptocurrencies as method of payment:

1. The cryptocurrency market (capitalisation) is currently worth over a £1.65 trillion pounds, and some analysts predict it to be worth exponentially more over the next decades. With the potential to be apart of such growth and also to help facilitate the growth, we believe this to be an exciting opportunity for us & other businesses.

2. Moreover, with an increased number of businesses accepting cryptocurrencies, offering the ability to accept another method of payment, can only help make your business standout more favourably when compared to competitors.

3. Chargebacks can have a detrimental affect on marketing agencies (and any other business). Chargebacks are where a customer asks their credit card provider or bank provider to return the money they paid. Whilst our chargeback rate is low, accepting cryptocurrencies means we can completely eliminate an chargeback risk.

4. The fees charged from our current payment provider, Stripe charge 2.9% + 20p per transaction. However, BitPay, our cryptocurrency provider only charge 1% per transaction which is nearly one third of the cost as our current payment provider.

5. Working capital can make or break a marketing agency or any small business. The time it takes to access our money from our current payment provider can taken up to 10 working days. When comparing to the process of accessing our capital with accepting cryptocurrencies as payments, it only take two working days.

Things to be mindful of…

We understand that things aren’t always singing and dancing. With that in mind, there are a number of factors to be aware of before accepting cryptocurrencies as payments:

1. With BitPay, you need a minimum balance of £1,000 to withdraw your cash into your bank. This is known as ‘payment settlement’.

2. Holding cryptocurrencies will expose you to fluctuations in the market. This can potentially mean that the value of the cryptocurrency you hold may not be the same fiat (cash) value over time.

3. Regulatory changes are pretty fluid nowadays. We are aware that central banks internationally are changing their rules and regulations around how cryptocurrencies are taxed, their legalities etc. Currently in the UK & most other major developed countries, it is perfectly legal to hold, sell & trade.

4. If you hold cryptocurrency, it will likely give rise to a number of additional accounting entries which may slightly increase administrative costs from your accountant. (For all the accounting nerds out there, think IAS 38, Intangible Assets).

How can it change the marketing industry (& your industry)?

As noted above, accepting cryptocurrencies as payment can give marketing agencies & other businesses an edge over competitors. It will convey a forward-thinking company which can only be a positive attribute for a technologically advancing world.

With that in mind, I’m sure a crypto-loving business requiring a new website designed, an ecommerce store, SEO or social media management is more likely to approach us for a discussion over another competitor.

What will we be doing with the cryptocurrency we are paid?

Once we are paid in Cryptocurrency as opposed to cash, we are likely to convert around 80% to fiat currency (otherwise known as cash). For the remaining 20% we will ‘HODL’ (an acronym for ‘Hold On for Dear Life’ – a term frequently used by crypto traders to denote not selling or converting their cryptocurrency back into cash). We expect to see the 20% cryptocurrency appreciate over time.

Do you accept a specific crypto, such a bitcoin?

We accept both BTC (Bitcoin) and ETH (Ethereum) as payments. Bitcoin and Ethereum hold the largest market cap  within the market and are typically deemed the most stable in terms of price fluctuations.

Summary: accepting cryptocurrencies as payment

In summary, we are all for moving with the times and keeping our offering fresh and on trend to ensure we can offer the best client experience. Accepting cryptocurrencies as payment is another one of the perks of working with us!