The post Crypto Payments vs. Traditional Methods: What Are We Really Gaining? appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
In recent years, cryptocurrencies have become very popular as an alternative currency for payments instead of universal fiat money. Let’s get to the point: what are the advantages of decentralized digital coins over traditional payment networks, such as credit cards or bank transfers? In this article, we’ll analyze the key differences between crypto payments and legacy financial systems to understand what value this new technology brings to the table. Fees One of the main selling points of pay with crypto is lower fees. Most credit card processors charge a merchant between 2 and 4 percent per transaction and other flat fees. These fees can be a big hit to small businesses or merchants selling low-margin products. On the other hand, bitcoin transaction fees are generally less than a dollar per transaction for any amount of transfer. There are lots of smaller cryptocurrencies with average fees under $0.10 and free transactions. That’s why crypto fees can be so low: There is no bank or payment processor taking a cut of each payment. Instead, the network is maintained by its users, mining or staking. According to statistics from credit card processor Square, business owners can save an average of 2.6% on transactions by accepting crypto payments. Obviously, this doesn’t sound like much, but it can make a big difference in profitability for small businesses. If a café sold $10,000 worth of coffee per month, that café could save about $260 that would have gone to credit card fees. Speed Slow settlement times are another significant issue with conventional digital payments. While credit card and debit card payments seem instant, the actual money transfer between banks and businesses takes 1-3 business days on average. This creates cash flow issues and headaches with accounting. But cryptocurrency networks have an average of under 10-minute transaction…