Cryptocurrencies: the future in business payments?

The 3 main benefits of cryptocurrency?

There are 3 main benefits of using cryptocurrency for international transactions.

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1.  Lower fees

Fees for cryptocurrency exchange services typically cost less than one percent, whereas conventional credit processing fees can reach as much as five percent. Nevertheless, exchange rates can still vary considerably.

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2. No specialised technologies

Moreover, transactions don’t require any specialized hardware or other expensive technology.

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3. Security

Security is another oft-cited benefit of using cryptocurrency or anything else on a blockchain network, for that matter. Transactions are virtually untraceable, and it’s impossible for anyone else other than the person with the digital wallet address to access the funds. The network is entirely built on cryptography, consisting of thousands of nodes worldwide to eliminate any single point of failure.

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What about the drawbacks?

Because it’s based entirely on global supply and demand, which can be notoriously difficult to predict, cryptocurrencies are inherently volatile, often fluctuating by hundreds of percentage points within just one year. For example, a single Bitcoin was valued at just $1 in early 2011, rising to $32 a few months later and peaking at $19,000 in 2017. By contrast, fiat currency is typically far more stable since its issuing government backs it.

Moreover, despite the security advantage of blockchain technology, crypto exchanges can still be hacked, and, just like any other information, digital wallet addresses can still be phished. If this happens, there’s also no recourse since crypto balances typically aren’t insured.

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What does the future hold for crypto?

Cryptocurrency is undeniably one of the most hyped-up technology developments of our time. For all the promise it offers, there remain complex and rapidly evolving regulatory challenges. That being said, as more multinational organizations adopt cryptocurrencies and governments aim to better support and regulate them, there’s a reasonable chance that cryptocurrency will eventually become an integral part of modern banking models.

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Mazepay doesn't enable payments based on cryptocurrencies right now, but just as we support 20+ different fiat currencies today we will support cryptocurrencies based on customer requests.

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So far, we have not had any customer requests for this, which underpins the very limited adoption of crypto in B2B payments. However, we expect this to change rapidly as more real-world web3 solutions demonstrate value for businesses.

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Mazepay is an all-in-one procurement and invoice management platform that significantly simplifies long-tail supply chain management. Get in touch today to find out more.