If you’re a business owner, side hustler, or entrepreneur, now is the time to start thinking about accepting crypto payments. There are more than 650 million people already using crypto worldwide and the market has already surpassed $3 trillion.
The good news? You’re already ahead of the curve by exploring how to integrate this technology into your business. Accepting crypto doesn’t have to be complicated, and today we’ll walk through step-by-step methods to make it simple.
One of the most powerful tools leading the way is Mesh, a fintech platform already working with giants like PayPal, Coinbase, and Binance. Mesh solves one of the biggest challenges in crypto: making it easy to accept any asset, from any wallet, and get paid instantly in stablecoins or cash without the tech headaches.
Whether running an online store, offering digital services, or simply want to future-proof your business, this guide will show you how to unlock the power of crypto payments.
Keep on reading to learn more, or feel free to check out my video below to learn more!
Before we get into the different methods for accepting crypto payments, you may be wondering why this is so important for your business - and really, the entire global payment system.
Using cryptocurrency as a payment network as opposed to a traditional option like Visa or MasterCard actually comes with multiple advantages. Most people think the only benefit to crypto payments is opening yourself up to a larger market of potential buyers.
Let’s explore the key advantages of accepting crypto payments and why they could be a game-changer for your business.
One of the biggest advantages of crypto payments is speed.
Traditional payment networks are often slowed down by lengthy settlement times. For example, a transaction made with Visa can take anywhere from one to three business days to fully process, depending on the banks and systems involved.
In contrast, crypto payments can be completed almost instantaneously.
This means businesses receive funds faster, customers experience smoother transactions, and both sides avoid the waiting game that comes with traditional payment networks.
Another major advantage of crypto payments is cost savings.
Traditional payment networks come with interchange fees (often called “swipe fees”) that merchants pay to the cardholder’s bank every time a credit or debit card is used. These fees are set by card networks like Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.
For credit cards, interchange fees typically range from 1.5% to 3% of the transaction, while debit card fees are lower, usually between 0.3% and 0.8%.
Crypto payments, on the other hand, can bypass traditional card networks entirely.
By using a platform like Mesh, merchants avoid interchange fees while enabling instant settlement in stablecoins or even local fiat currency.
Fraud is another area where crypto payments have a clear advantage over traditional systems.
Card networks like Visa and MasterCard primarily operate as pull systems, in which the merchant pulls funds from the customer’s account using sensitive information such as a card number. Every time that data is shared, it creates the risk of exposure. If stolen, it can be used to make fraudulent transactions.
Crypto payments work differently. Instead of pulling funds, the customer pushes the payment, authorizing and initiating the transaction directly from their wallet. No card numbers or sensitive information are shared with the merchant, drastically reducing the risk of fraud.
On top of that, crypto eliminates chargebacks.
In traditional payments, chargebacks occur when a cardholder disputes a transaction and their bank forces a reversal, often at the merchant’s expense. U.S. businesses lose billions each year to fraud and chargeback costs.
With crypto, once a transaction is confirmed on-chain, it’s final. That certainty gives merchants greater security and predictability in their cash flow.
So how can you get up and running with crypto payment right now? The first way is through existing Integrations.
Mesh has a Payments App on Shopify that is currently being tested with launch partner PawCo. Through this simple integration, anyone with a Shopify store will eventually be able to accept crypto payments right at check out.
With that said, this was just rolled out in March of this year, so they are still working out some of the kinks. If you use Shopify, look for Mesh in the Shopify App Store and stay tuned for more updates on this and other Integrations.
The 2nd way you can start accepting crypto payments is through PSPs. A Payment Service Provider (PSP) is a third-party company that helps businesses accept and manage payments both online and in person.
Popular examples of this include Shift4, Stripe, Square, PayPal, Adyen and more. Mesh has already established a partnership with Shift4, which is the global leader in integrated payments and commerce technology.
The integration which launched at the end of 2024 enabled more than 200,000 merchants to automatically convert crypto payments into local currencies, and this is available in over 45 Countries. So if you happen to already use Shift4, you can tap into this immediately.
In addition, PayPal recently launched their Pay With Crypto feature, which is supported by Mesh.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to your payment service provider to ask them about this too, as it’s only a matter of time before all of them offer crypto payment options.
