The rise of crypto payments: what businesses need to know

Cryptocurrency is increasingly being used for real-world payments. We look at some key use cases and the benefits.

As digital assets gain traction, businesses of all sizes are beginning to explore their potential, not merely as an investment, but as a means of transacting with customers, partners and others.

If you’re a business leader wondering whether crypto payment is hype or happening, our guide explains the actual use cases already taking shape – and what this means for your bottom line.

1. Cross-border payments & remittances

If the payer and payee are in different countries and bank locally, their respective banks won’t necessarily use the same domestic payment system. Rather, they rely on a network of international correspondent banks.

Even payment services that don’t involve a bank account at the customer level (e.g. remittances) rely on correspondent banking for the actual transfer of funds.

So much of the process seems to be a ‘black box’. So much is either hidden or out of the control of the either the sender or recipient. For example, which banks are involved, which systems they use, whether they cross a time zone, currency or language.

No wonder that daily cut-off times, unexpected delays, nasty fee surprises, failed payments and exceptions are commonplace.

By contrast, crypto transcends national borders, which strips out duplication, time and cost. All transactions are recorded on a public blockchain, which helps improve transparency and prevent financial crime.

Crypto pros:

• Coverage – better global coverage than cards
• Availability – 24/7 availability
• Speed – near-instant settlement
• Cost – lower remittance costs than traditional money service businesses (MSBs)

2. E-commerce & retail payments

If you have an e-commerce website, you’re open for business 24 hours a day to customers worldwide. That’s significant because the global B2C cross-border e-commerce is expected to increase tenfold over the next decade, going from $785 billion in 2021 to $7.9 trillion by 2030.

Not everyone has, uses or trusts payment cards online. Credit and debit cards only represented around one-third of global e-commerce transaction values in 2024. And will account for a smaller proportion of online spend in the future, around one-fifth by 2030, according to card acquirer Worldpay.

To avoid losing 80% of potential sales, offering more payment choice has become a must for those selling online. This includes crypto as funds are available on account seconds after they’re sent, which benefits cashflow and working capital efficiencies.

Crypto payments are individually confirmed to both payer and payee or rejected. Unlike with cards, there are no chargebacks. So, businesses have increased certainty, visibility and control over funds.

Crypto pros:

• Availability – 24/7 availability to match your online opening hours
• Speed – funds on account in near real-time, irrespective of customer location
• Settlement – irreversible payments with no chargebacks
• Cost – lower processing costs than credit cards

3. iGaming payments

Local payment methods are popular in the iGaming sector, as they are in almost every online sector, because there’s no global way to pay.

Customers are not likely to do something different just to play on a site. So, iGaming operators with cross-border expansion plans must consider accommodating local payment preferences, including crypto. That’s probably why over a quarter of iGaming operators now have crypto in their flow of funds.

Getting set up to allow players to fund their accounts in crypto is easy with Inpay. iGaming operators can complete the process in four simple steps: whitelist your wallet, complete a boarding form, receive a unique deposit address for funding, and start sending and receiving crypto funds.

Crypto pros:

• Speed – decentralized blockchain allows instant payment, anywhere, any time
• Cost – stripping out financial and technical middlemen strips out cost
• Choice – pay-ins via the most popular cryptocurrencies; payouts in 90 fiat currencies
• Pricing – a simple fixed percentage fee, with no FX charges or nasty surprises

4. Business-to-business payments

Every business needs to make and receive payments – and increasingly that’s happening cross-border. The value of B2B payments will grow 40% by 2028 to reach $124 trillion globally, Juniper Research says.

Whether it’s paying suppliers, gig workers, freelancers or salaried workers in other countries. Or marketplaces paying sellers, acquirers paying merchants or lending platforms paying borrowers. Cross-border B2B payments are often complex, time-consuming, manual and expensive.

There’s also a general lack of transparency around pricing, timing and tracking, due to the multi-party nature of correspondent banking. The extra internal sign-offs required and extra data (e.g. tax info, purchase order or invoice numbers) also make B2B payments more complex than payments between people (P2P) or between businesses and consumers (B2C).

Crypto offers global disbursements, potentially faster and cheaper than international wires. And enables B2B organizations to appeal and pay out to recipients worldwide with or without bank accounts.

Crypto pros:

• Coverage – available everywhere you want to pay
• Convenience – no bank account required to send or receive payment
• Speed – near-instant settlement worldwide
• Cost – stripping out middlemen strips out cost

5. Streaming & micropayments

Small payments are a big problem online. The process of paying is clunky and almost designed to put the buyer off. And the cost of accepting payments seldom makes sense for the seller.

Payment systems typically apply enterprise-level security and verification for all purchases, including small and micropayments between $1 and $15. That’s the typical cost of an individual article, blog, song or digital item. No wonder abandonment rates are high and climb with each checkout step added.

Then there’s the unfavorable economics of payment acceptance. Micropayments are unviable with payment cards, as processing fees eat up a significant percentage of the transactions value. Domestic bank transfers may work out cheaper but are a hassle. As to international wires? Forget it.

Consumers are happy to pay for digital content. Content creators are more than happy to monetize their creativity. It’s payment that’s the problem. Crypto could enable real-time programmable money. And allow the digital economy to move from cumbersome, registered subscriptions to one-off and pay-per-use models.

Crypto pros:

• Cost – better economics to make small and micropayments viable
• Coverage – available everywhere with an internet connection
• Availability – no bank or card account required to send or receive payment
• Convenience – simpler than clunky checkout processes