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Consumer-merchant mismatch slows down mainstream crypto adoption: Survey

A new Crypto.com survey reveals a huge gap between consumer demand and merchant acceptance for crypto payments.

The secret to fast-track cryptocurrency’s mainstream adoption lies within addressing a contradicted consumer demand for crypto payments across business verticals, reveals a new survey. 

In a study participated by crypto exchange Crypto.com’s 110,000 customers and over 1.5 million Worldpay merchants, roughly 60% of both merchants and customers shared their interest in crypto payments. However, the consumer demand does not reciprocate the business verticals that accept cryptocurrencies.

Industry appetite for crypto payments. Source: Crypto.com

As evidenced above, the consumer demand for crypto payments exceeds merchant availability across four major industries — travel, automotive, digital media and hospitality. The gap in merchant availability poses a massive opportunity to capitalize on market demand for crypto payments.

On the other hand, industries with calmer markets such as luxury goods, retail and grocery and gaming display a bigger appetite for crypto acceptance. For example, luxury brands and retailers have started exploring nonfungible tokens (NFT) to authenticate their products while being exposed to a new customer base.

As a direct result of customer demand outweighing merchants for crypto payments, the survey reads:

“Because of this, 64% of Crypto.com’s customers are using a prepaid card in order to spend their holdings at businesses that do not support a direct wallet transfer.”

Both consumers and merchants trust and prefer to use cryptocurrencies with the highest market capitalization — Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and USD Coin (USDC).

Preference of crypto tokens for payments. Source: Crypto.com

Another consumer-merchant mismatch involves the preference in payment mediums. While roughly 70% of surveyed customers showed interest in in-store and online crypto payment, most crypto-accepting businesses chose to accept crypto through e-commerce websites only.

Considering the gaps despite the rising demand from both merchants and consumers, the Crypto.com survey highlights the need for crypto education and the evolving regulatory landscape to expedite merchant acceptance across the impeding business verticals.

Related: Upcoming Apple iPhone feature to give merchants a way to accept crypto payments

Apple recently announced plans to launch a new Tap to Pay feature for its iPhone, which effectively turns the smartphone into a point-of-sale device for businesses and merchants.

A Cointelegraph report on the matter discloses the possibility of using the upcoming feature for making crypto payments across businesses accepting Apple Pay.

According to Apple, the soon-to-be-launched Tap to Pay feature will extend support to “Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards and other digital wallets.”

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Upcoming Apple iPhone feature to give merchants a way to accept crypto payments

Apple Pay users will technically be able to use iPhone’s Tap to Pay feature to make crypto payments across mainstream merchants and businesses.

Apple announced plans to launch Tap to Pay for its iPhone, a new feature that effectively turns the smartphone into a point-of-sale device for businesses and merchants. So, what’s in it for crypto?

The announcement explains that with Tap to Pay, iPhone-owning merchants receive contactless payments by using their mobile devices as a point-of-sale machine thanks to the near-field communication technology, or NFC.

According to Apple, the soon-to-be-launched Tap to Pay feature will extend support to “Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards and other digital wallets.” It basically means that unless Apple places a direct barrier for it, customers who are using Coinbase Card, Crypto.com Visa Card or a similar payments card would be able to use their cryptocurrency holdings to make payments via Tap to Pay.

While Apple has announced Stripe, an Irish-American fintech, as the first platform to offer the Tap to Pay feature on the iPhone, the company clarified that “additional payment platforms and apps will follow later this year.”

Back in August 2021, major crypto exchange Coinbase integrated with Apple Pay and Google Pay, allowing users to purchase crypto assets on its platform. As Cointelegraph reported, the move allowed United States-based customers to purchase crypto using bank-issued debit and credit cards via mainstream payments platform Apple Pay.

In June 2021, Coinbase launched Coinbase Card, enabling users to spend cryptocurrencies across mainstream avenues:

“Coinbase will automatically convert all cryptocurrency to US Dollars and transfer the funds to your Coinbase Card (less conversion fees) for use in purchases and ATM withdrawals.”

Following suit, crypto exchange Crypto.com launched a similar offering named Crypto.com Visa Card, which can be added to Apple Pay and other major digital wallets. Apple said in the announcement:

“Tap to Pay on iPhone will work with contactless credit and debit cards from leading payment networks, including American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa.”

Considering Coinbase’s capability to convert a user’s crypto holdings to fiat in real-time for payments, Apple Pay users will be able to use iPhone’s Tap to Pay feature to make crypto payments across mainstream merchants and businesses.

While Apple Pay will most likely not allow direct purchase of goods and services via Bitcoin (BTC), it will convert the user’s crypto holdings to match the dollar amount requested by the merchant’s point-of-sale machine to make the purchase.

Let’s also not forget that in November 2021, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the personal purchase of cryptocurrencies as “part of a diversified portfolio” while highlighting no immediate plans to accept crypto as a means of payment for Apple products.

Apple intends to roll out the Tap to Pay feature on Apple Stores, iPhone XS and later devices.

Related: Bitcoin Lightning Network goes live on Cash App

Cash App, a mobile payments service developed and owned by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s Block, announced compatibility with the Bitcoin Lightning Network for BTC transfers.

With the launch of the new feature, Cash App users can make faster BTC transactions across mainstream businesses. As Cointelegraph reported, the company has made the feature available everywhere in the United States apart from New York.

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ECB Paper Marks Success Factors for CBDCs, Digital Euro

ECB Paper Marks Success Factors for CBDCs, Digital EuroA paper published by the European Central Bank (ECB) discusses various conditions for successful implementation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) such as the eurozone’s own digital euro. The authors also point to different risks that such projects entail, like the danger of crowding out the private sector. ECB: Digital Euro Should Be Widely Used […]

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Australian baseball club Perth Heat to pay athletes in Bitcoin

Perth Heat will use the Bitcoin Lightning Network to make payments to professional baseball players and staff.

Australian baseball club Perth Heat has announced a partnership with Bitcoin payment processor OpenNode to accept and make payments in Bitcoin (BTC). The partnership allows Perth Heat to pay professional players and staff in Bitcoin. 

According to the announcement, the professional sports club will send and receive payments in Bitcoin over the Lightning Network. In addition, the partnership with OpenNode allows the Perth Heat organization to accept Bitcoin payments for sponsorships, merchandise and other revenue streams.

Taking things a step further, Perth Heat has also rebranded itself to be called “the Bitcoin baseball team.”

The club has also listed Bitcoin-branded merchandise on its official website. Showing long-term commitment to mainstream Bitcoin adoption, the announcement stated:

“As part of this sporting world exclusive, Perth Heat will hodl Bitcoin on the club’s balance sheet.”

Steven Nelkovski, the CEO of Perth Heat believes that embracing the underlying values of the Bitcoin protocol “will inspire others to embrace a monetary system that demands value creation to thrive.” According to the club’s “chief bitcoin officer,” Patrick O'Sullivan:

“The club has already established an initial position in BTC to help secure its digital property rights on the world's most secure monetary network and will continue to reinvest available capital into Bitcoin. The Perth Heat are embracing the reality that the future of money and corporate treasuries will live on the Bitcoin blockchain.”

Related: Australian Senators pushing for country to become the next crypto hub

The Land Down Under has ramped up efforts this year to allow regulated crypto adoption. On Oct. 20, an Australian Senate committee called for a complete overhaul of crypto legislation and licensing.

As Cointelegraph reported a few days later, the Australia Securities and Investments Commission also released a guideline that greenlights Bitcoin and Ether (ETH)-based exchange-traded products:

“As of October 2021, Bitcoin and Ether appear likely to satisfy all five factors identified above to determine appropriate underlying assets for an ETP. We expect the range of non-financial product crypto-assets that can satisfy these factors will expand over time.”

A recent survey conducted by Crypto.com also found that Australian citizens are equally keen to explore crypto investments. Out of the polled 2,020 Australians aged between 18 and 59, 26% responded that they would consider giving some away for Christmas or buying crypto-related gifts.

According to Crypto.com general manager Karl Mohan, “Australians are clearly very keen to adopt cryptocurrencies and integrate their use into day-to-day spending.”

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Verifone Enables Retailers to Accept Cryptocurrencies, Says Merchants’ Appetite for Crypto Payments ‘Has Exploded’

Verifone Enables Retailers to Accept Cryptocurrencies, Says Merchants’ Appetite for Crypto Payments ‘Has Exploded’Verifone, a global payment system provider with 35 million devices in 150 countries, is rolling out crypto payment support in the U.S. in partnership with Bitpay. Verifone’s platform processes more than $440 billion annually. The company says, “the appetite for crypto payments has exploded this year.” Major Retailers Will Soon Be Able to Accept Cryptocurrency […]

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Xiaomi retailer in Portugal now accepts Bitcoin payments

The official Portuguese shop of Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi has partnered with Utrust to unlock payments in five cryptocurrencies.

Chinese electronics manufacturer Xiaomi is the latest global company to get involved in the cryptocurrency industry as its official Portuguese shop now accepts Bitcoin (BTC) payments.

Mi Store Portugal, the official Xiaomi retailer, announced Wednesday on Facebook that it now allows customers to purchase devices using five cryptocurrencies, including BTC, Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), Dash (DASH) and the Utrust (UTK) token.

According to the official Mi Store Portugal website, customers can now select the option to pay with crypto at checkout.

The new payment option is enabled through a partnership with Utrust, a European blockchain technology payment platform. “Xiaomi is the second-largest phone manufacturer in the world, and now their local branch is accepting the Money of Tomorrow,” Utrust’s official Twitter account said Wednesday.

According to data from global industry analysis firm Counterpoint, Xiaomi surpassed global smartphone giant Apple as the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world in the second quarter of 2021.

Mi Store Portugal is the only official retailer of Xiaomi’s certified products in Portugal, operating under the European legislation, the company’s website notes. The firm currently has six physical stores nationwide and is in the process of expansion.

Related: New study reveals high demand for payments in cryptocurrency

Pedro Maia, marketing director of Mi Store Portugal, reportedly said that the company’s move to accept crypto payments aligns with Xiaomi’s striving for innovation. “We are a technological, innovative, and disruptive brand. That’s why we always want to be one step ahead. We want to give the possibility to all true technology fans to buy their favorite gadgets with what is currently the ‘most technological money.’”

As previously reported, Portugal has been steadily growing as a cryptocurrency-friendly country in recent years, with the local government charging zero taxes from retail crypto trading. Earlier this year, a local energy trading firm started accepting Bitcoin as payment for electricity bills.

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Square to acquire Australian fintech Afterpay in $29B deal

Square will acquire Australian fintech firm Afterpay in a $29 billion stock deal, expecting to close the transaction in Q1 2022.

Jack Dorsey’s cryptocurrency-friendly digital payments firm Square is expanding competition with global payment giants like PayPal by acquiring a major Australian lending company.

Square announced Sunday that the firm has entered into a scheme implementation deed to acquire all of the issued shares in fintech company Afterpay in a $29 billion deal. The transaction is based on the closing price of the Square common share and is expected to be paid in all stock in the first quarter of 2022.

The acquisition enables Square to further accelerate its strategic plans for payment ecosystems as the company is looking to integrate Afterpay into its Seller and Cash App business units to enable a “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) service.

Also referred to as installment loans, BNPL transactions allow customers to pay a bill in small portions throughout a fixed period of time and are actively pioneered by global financial firms like PayPal, Mastercard, Klarna, Citi, and others.

According to the announcement, the integration will enable small businesses to offer BNPL at checkout, allowing Afterpay consumers to manage their installment payments directly in Cash App and discover BNPL offers directly within the app. The integration marks a new milestone for Square in meeting the growing consumer demand for shifting away from traditional credit.

Square co-founder and CEO Dorsey said that the acquisition will help the companies to deliver on their shared mission to make the financial system more accessible, fair and inclusive. “Together, we can better connect our Cash App and Seller ecosystems to deliver even more compelling products and services for merchants and consumers, putting the power back in their hands,” he noted.

Related: DeFi on Bitcoin: Jack Dorsey says Square’s new division will make it happen

As part of the transaction, Afterpay’s co-founders and senior executives will join Square and help lead Afterpay’s related merchant and consumer businesses within Square’s Seller and Cash App ecosystems. Square has also agreed to establish a secondary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to allow Afterpay shareholders to trade Square shares via CHESS depositary interests on the ASX.

The news comes amid Square announcing notable second-quarter earnings, reporting 200% growth in Bitcoin (BTC) revenue. Square’s Bitcoin services generated $55 million in gross profit, increasing 223% year-on-year, while Cash App generated a gross profit of $546 million, surging 94%.

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Dash launches retail consumer app for shopping in stores across America

The app allows consumers to pay with Dash at over 155,000 in-store locations and 125 online retailers across the United States.

Dash has announced the launch of DashDirect — a consumer app that allows users to spend the DASH cryptocurrency in stores across America.

In an announcement released on Tuesday, Dash revealed that the new customer-focused app will offer up to 12% in savings on purchases by users.

Detailing the rebates and discount features, Mashall Greenwald, DashDirect Founder and CEO of CrayPay told Cointelegraph: “After you enter the exact amount of your current purchase in the app, an immediate discount of up to 12% is applied,” adding:

“This allows anyone to spend Dash for everyday purchases as easily as using USD, but with the added protections of decentralized money and the added value of 5% average savings due to Dash's efficient, low-cost transactions and DashDirect's unique merchant network.”

According to the release, the app will allow users to pay with Dash at popular American retail outlets like Best Buy, Staples, Chipotle, Home Depot, among others. According to Greenwald, thought the initial DashDirect launch is restricted to the U.S. there is demand for the product in several other countries.

“We will need to expand our merchant network to include merchants in any given region along with adding localized currency conversion and language support,” Greenwald added to Cointelegraph

Related: Payments-focused cryptocurrency Dash now has a bridge to DeFi

Greenwald also told Cointelegraph that DashDirect is non-custodial, meaning that users will retain control of their Dash tokens when using the app. According to the DashDirect chief, the platform leverages Dash’s payment technology to offer low-cost, instant payment capability required for crypto-based microtransactions.

The app will also reportedly include a tipping feature, and a dashboard for users to track spending and savings.

DashDirect is also a further indication of Dash’s move to position itself as a payment-focused crypto. Back in January, its DashPay smartphone wallet app moved into the testnet phase.

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China Has Dispersed Over $40 Million of Digital Yuan in Red Envelopes, Report Reveals

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