Crypto payments are becoming increasingly popular as Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital avails proceed to go mainstream. This has become the case for both crypto holders and non-crypto owners who are primarily interested in the concept of using cryptocurrencies for payments.

Contempo information has found that 93% of crypto users surveyed would consider making purchases in crypto. The written report further revealed that 59% of consumers who don't hold crypto would be interested in using information technology to brand purchases in the future.

As such, it shouldn't come up as a surprise that major payment providers like Mastercard have been ramping upwards their efforts to back up crypto payments moving frontwards. In improver, social media giants such as Twitter are besides working to enable cryptocurrency payments through mechanisms like tipping.

Verifone launches crypto payments

It'south important to point out that online merchants and concrete retailers must begin accepting crypto payments to ensure mainstream adoption. According to findings from Fundera, only about ii,300 businesses in the The states accepted Bitcoin payments at the terminate of 2022.

In order to advance this, Verifone — 1 of the largest betoken-of-sale providers in the world — appear today that the extension of BitPay's blockchain payment engineering will enable cryptocurrency transactions.

Mike Pulli, CEO of Verifone, told Cointelegraph that by the end of this year, merchants leveraging Verifone'southward in-store and eCommerce Deject Services platforms in the U.s. will exist able to have cryptocurrency payments. Pulli added that Verifone has been seeking culling payment methods recently, and will now support crypto transactions due to the mainstream's rising interest in cryptocurrency:

"We experience that having crypto available on our terminals will open up more options and opportunities for consumers, which is what Verifone aims to do. This opens up a currency that has never before been seen on a terminal and we want to exist at the forefront of this trend."

Although Pulli was unable to reveal which online and concrete merchants will brainstorm to back up crypto payments, the visitor'south attain is substantial and volition therefore likely take an bear on on crypto payment adoption. To put this in perspective, Verifone operates 36 1000000 bespeak-of-sale, or POS, devices and has processed over 10 billion transactions, generating over $350 billion in volume per year.

Stephen Pair, CEO of BitPay, told Cointelegraph that while BitPay regularly enables merchants to procedure crypto transactions, Verifone is by far the biggest partnership to date: "Verifone customers are requesting to accept crypto payments. This has become the example as there are millions of crypto users today that have blockchain wallets on their phones that they desire to leverage."

Source: Verifone

To Pair'southward point, head of culling payment methods at Verifone Jeremy Belostock told Cointelegraph that the company is witnessing a major shift in consumer behavior due to reasons such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically speaking, Belostock noted that, more than than ever before, consumers are trusting mobile wallets, looking at these as quick and like shooting fish in a barrel payment methods:

"There has been a shift from having a credit card to having a trusted mobile app that consumers want to leverage for spending. We are borer into this market to make crypto mainstream."

As easy equally using Venmo or PayPal, but for crypto transactions

Belostock explained that Verifone's advanced payment engine designed to back up crypto transactions functions the same as its terminals that accept Venmo or PayPal payments. The only difference is that both physical and online merchants will at present be able to accept Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Litecoin (LTC), and five USD-pegged stablecoins Gemini dollar (GUSD), USD Money (USDC), Pax Dollar (USDP), Maker DAO (DAI) and Binance USD (BUSD).

Moreover, the solution will initially back up major wallets including Blockchain.com, BRD, Metamask and BitPay. Belostock further mentioned that when paying with crypto via a Verifone device, consumers will go through an piece of cake procedure, similar to using a credit bill of fare:

"When a consumer goes to pay at a physical store, they volition see the amount due and the screen will give them the different options for which crypto wallet to use. They will choose a wallet and a QR-code volition surface. They will so browse the QR-lawmaking directly from their blockchain wallet and choose the cryptocurrency they want to pay with."

From the merchant's perspective, Pulli explained that accepting crypto payments via Verifone is the same as accepting another form of tender, noting that there is no added risk involved: "All that'south required from our merchants is a software update since they are connected to our cloud platform. Even though consumers are sending crypto from their wallets, merchants volition only see their local currency."

This is an important point, as Belostock shared that many of Verifone's merchants have expressed concern near exposure to crypto's volatility. "The big question here is if in that location is any risk involved," he remarked. Yet, unlike other solutions that allow merchants to decide whether or not to accept crypto after transactions are settled, Verifone's merchants must accept the U.S. dollar. "This is mainly because of the refund aspect, but information technology also protects against volatility," said Belostock. He added that in the case of a refund, consumers volition get their crypto back for the amount of their original purchase.

Will mainstream adoption follow?

While information technology'due south clear that crypto payments are on the rise, some concerns remain that may hamper mainstream adoption in the United states.

On Sept. 24, for example, the People's Bank of People's republic of china, or PBoC, published guidelines to crack down on crypto activity throughout the country. These measures intend to "cut off payment channels, dispose of relevant websites and mobile applications in accordance with the police."

Although this may impact crypto's accomplish, Bill Zielke, BitPay's main marketing officer, told Cointelegraph that it's too early to tell what consequence Prc's measures may have in the U.Due south. or globally: "We do see positive growth and huge potential with the Verifone announcement today in the U.S. as some other way for merchants to accept Bitcoin and 10 other cryptos, equally well equally for consumers who accept crypto and are looking to spend."

Related: Adapt or die: Payments giants partner with crypto firms to ensure security

In add-on to Red china's contempo crypto ban, both consumers and merchants could confront a number of challenges when it comes to spending cryptocurrency. For example, accounting challenges tend to be a major business concern for U.S.-based users. Yet, Pair mentioned that no tax implications will be present if users convert crypto to stable coins that tin can be spent on Verifone devices. He further pointed out that companies offering crypto conversion software like TaxBit are helping users study gains and losses directly from their wallets.

Moreover, accessibility could also create challenges for both merchants and consumers, as some crypto payment solutions require a number of steps in order for purchases to be made. For instance, Belostock mentioned that Verifone has seen competitive solutions where crypto must be transferred from multiple wallets and then converted to a souvenir card to be used for payments. While this may be, he remarked that the product that Verifone and BitPay have built should plow out to be uncomplicated and intuitive.