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Sébastien Estines
Co-founder Lyzi
Cryptocurrencies are here to stay. Speculations about the future of cryptocurrency have been circulating since its inception. From the launch of Bitcoin in 2009, when only a few really understood the sector and bought their share of BTC, until its significant drop in 2017. Those who missed out on the first investment opportunities tried to console themselves by saying that they had always known that crypto was nothing more than a fad and would not last.
While it's true that the cryptocurrency market is extremely volatile, the crypto space continues to prove that this new payment method is here to stay. So can accepting crypto payments attract new customers?
Cryptocurrency investors have always been able to convert cryptocurrencies into fiat currency and spend their earnings as they wanted. However, there were costs associated with each conversion. Centralized exchanges took an important turn when they decided to offer their members payment cards, allowing them to spend crypto assets directly without first converting them into fiat.
It was an obvious improvement. Users can now avoid additional costs associated with financial transactions and spend their cryptos wherever card payments are accepted.
By giving cryptocurrency holders the ability to freely spend their assets, a huge customer base has opened up. With a market capitalization of nearly 2 trillion US dollars, cryptocurrencies are suddenly available to traders around the world. Cryptocurrency has evolved from a digital currency that was limited in use in the real world to a freely accessible form of payment, which allowed for faster adoption.
Statistics have shown that the two main demographics that spend cryptocurrencies are millennials and millennials, who represent around 65% of the global population. It wasn't that long ago that only a few businesses accepted crypto payments. That's why cryptocurrency was mostly used to buy more expensive items such as cars, real estate, jewelry, luxury watches, high-tech gadgets, and art.
Today, cryptocurrency holders can use their cards to pay for daily services. Collaboration between centralized exchanges and card issuers has been one of the most important steps towards the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies.
This decision allowed millions of users to spend their crypto assets at any point of sale, opening up exciting new opportunities for traders.
Retailers now have the opportunity to access a whole new customer base known for spending money on expensive products. The future looks bright, but one of the main problems for traders remains current: transaction fees.
As anyone who works in the retail industry knows, card payments absorb a significant percentage of merchant revenue. These fees can be up to 4% of each purchase, depending on the card issuer.
With Lyzi, the merchant pays a processing fee under its contract, and the customer only pays the blockchain network fees.
Merchants can easily integrate the Lyzi payment network into their point of sale systems and start accepting crypto payments without any additional devices. They can also use the user-friendly Pro app.
Customers pay from their wallet or exchange account by scanning a QR code. Unlike bank cards, crypto payments do not expose the merchant to chargebacks.
Merchants choose to be settled in euros or in regulated stablecoins (EURC, USDC, EURCV, EURE). With settlement in euros, their business is not exposed to the volatility of the cryptocurrency market.
FinTech reports all paint the same picture of a society that will soon be cashless. Some European countries are expected to switch to cashless payments by 2024. Global circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia are only accelerating the transition to the digital payment era. E-commerce is also booming and is expected to grow by more than 20% by 2023.
Accepting crypto and digital payments is no longer a matter of time; users are now using them, and merchants should do the same. The benefits are obvious: retailers can access new customers, representing over 65% of the world's population, attract high-end customers who buy more expensive items, and increase revenue by paying lower transaction fees.
Making the leap into cryptocurrency is an advantage over competitors who may not yet know if they are ready to enter the cryptocurrency world. Overall, one thing is clear: when merchants start accepting cryptocurrency payments, customers will surely end up spending their cryptocurrencies in their stores.
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