Stripe and Crypto.com Put Crypto Payments Within Reach of Merchants

Stripe and Crypto.com are partnering to enable businesses to seamlessly accept customer cryptocurrency payments, according to a press release from Crypto.com.

The collaboration between the two companies means that more merchants may soon move toward accepting payments from crypto holdings. Exactly how many merchants will pursue that option remains to be seen.

But Crypto.com said in its release that the company’s integration with Stripe will open the door for millions of businesses to easily take payments in crypto.

Some businesses may have shied away from accepting crypto payments up to this point. After all, accepting payment in crypto can be technically challenging as well as risky, due to the price volatility of digital currencies.

But the collaboration between Stripe and Crypto.com will permit customers to pay with the cryptocurrency of their choice. 

Stripe can take payments a customer makes in crypto and convert them to a merchant’s preferred local currency.

Stripe recently introduced stablecoin payment details for merchants, announcing that they will carry a 1.5% transaction fee — and no fixed charges. Merchants may prefer payments in stablecoin as the fees for those transactions can be less than the charges merchants incur when a customer transacts with a traditional credit card.

Adding another element of convenience for merchants, Stripe will convert the payments a customer makes in crypto into the preferred local currency of the business. 

Joe Anzures, General Manager, Americas, and EVP of Payments at Crypto.com, said in the release that Crypto.com is excited to partner with Stripe and for the two companies to kick-start a new phase of crypto-enabled commerce.

“Increasing everyday accessibility to and utility of cryptocurrencies for consumers and merchants is central to our vision at Crypto.com,” Anzures said.

Merchants that move swiftly to accept payments in cryptocurrency may gain a competitive advantage over businesses that don’t. But the press release from Crypto.com also contained welcome news for credit card issuers.

Namely, Crypto.com announced that it’s using Stripe to permit people to make cryptocurrency purchases with both their credit and debit cards.

That move stands to create more opportunities for people to use their credit cards to buy crypto, which could put issuers in a position to earn more revenue. And crypto enthusiasts who open a credit card to buy their favorite digital currencies may also use the card to make other purchases.

This year could be a significant one in terms of the advancement of cryptocurrencies. A recent report reveals that Goldman Sachs believes that use cases for crypto outside of trading as well as changes on the regulatory front point to a positive outlook for the industry.

“We see the improving regulatory backdrop as a key driver to continued institutional crypto adoption, especially for buyside and sellside financial firms, as well as new use cases for crypto developing beyond trading,” analysts including James Yaro, Equity Research Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, wrote in the report, according to CoinDesk.

Once large, established organizations begin ramping up their adoption of cryptocurrencies, it may be only a matter of time before firms such as Crypto.com and Stripe announce more solutions to facilitate the use of digital assets in everyday transactions.