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Fintech companies—especially billing and invoicing vendors —are dipping their toes into cryptocurrencies. Their support makes crypto easier to access and use for regular enterprise transactions like billing clients, or making payroll and expense payouts.
Crypto has seen growing adoption, with a sharp rise in the number of people who own crypto. as reported in Chainalysis' Geography of Cryptocurrency report. The value of crypto transactions jumped more than 300% from 2018-2020, totaling $1.8 trillion in 2020.
Many companies, including fintech payments facilitators, still avoid getting on board with crypto for many reasons. However, they’re becoming aware that they must support their customers' crypto payments needs to stay competitive.
So why are billing and invoicing software platforms and other fintech embracing crypto? Let’s find out!
Crypto is becoming a widely accepted payment method
Blockchain-based currencies are a universal, internet-native, programmable form of cash. Those qualities make crypto an ideal candidate for cheaper and faster cross-border payments - a problem that remains to be solved for our increasingly internet-native economy.
With over $156 trillion in estimated global cross-border payments in 2022 alone, research conducted by Uniswap Labs and Circle estimates that blockchain-based payment rails could reduce remittance costs by as much as 80%. That could translate to savings of about $30 billion annually.
While some businesses may still be hesitant about accepting cryptocurrency, a growing number of large companies are leading the way. Major companies such as Microsoft, AT&T, and Expedia have already begun accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment, indicating a growing trend of mainstream adoption globally. One survey by PwC in 2021, found that 84% of companies polled had, or were considering adopting cryptocurrencies for payments, compared to only 14% in 2018.
If you are a business owner and haven't started using crypto invoicing, you should consider offering to accept payments in crypto. New crypto-native enterprise apps enable you to easily invoice clients in crypto.
Stablecoins: crypto without the volatility
One reason holding businesses back from accepting payment in crypto is that most cryptocurrencies are much more volatile than other currencies.
While their higher volatility means the potential for tremendous appreciation in value, the reverse is equally likely. No sensible merchant would be willing to risk their revenues losing value overnight.
However, the use of stablecoins - cryptocurrencies pegged to national currencies - is increasingly popular. They bring all the benefits of blockchain, without the downsides of other types of cryptocurrencies. In 2022, USD-pegged stablecoins circulating on public blockchains have seen explosive growth, with a combined circulating supply of nearly $130 billion as of September 2021 – a more than 500% increase from just a year prior.
As a business owner, cryptocurrencies like stablecoins offer you a new opportunity to do business without borders. For merchants who accept cryptocurrency, it's easy to send funds across borders without incurring exorbitant fees, fraudulent chargebacks, or waiting for bank transfers to process.
You don't have to change your entire business model to accept crypto. Instead, get started by offering a few options that customers can purchase with crypto. It would help if you also had invoice generator software tools such as a crypto invoice generator.