Interest in Crypto Payments Remains Strong – Despite Market Crash

Despite the crypto market crash, consumer interest in crypto is still strong. Retail investors still hold crypto, and they want to. A recent Accenture report showcases the need for merchants to embrace crypto to appeal to an ever-more crypto-savvy consumer base.

Accenture’s 2022 Global Consumer Payments report surveyed 16,000 customers in 13 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Out of these, one in five said that they owned cryptocurrencies.

Of the respondents, 28% said they bought crypto as a long-term investment. However, 17% said they bought crypto to access alternative payment methods.

The report suggests that payments are one most important segments for crypto adoption. While credit cards remain dominant, next-gen payments are gaining traction. This includes digital wallets and crypto.

56% of respondents said they used digital wallets more than five times per month. Moreover, 9% of respondents said they use next-gen methods as their primary payment method. Out of these, 4% use crypto as a primary payment method.

These figures are set to rise rapidly, and the share of next-gen methods could jump to 25% by 2025. That is especially true in Asia, where next-gen payments are more mainstream.

Recent trends in adoption suggest that retailers should take crypto payments seriously, says Mina Louka, the CEO of B2BinPay.

"I think we will see crypto becoming an increasingly attractive alternative for merchants," he said. "In the traditionally low-margin business, retailers need every edge they can get," he added.

Launched in 2017, B2BinPay offers its enterprise crypto wallets and merchant solutions. Its CEO believes that crypto is finally in a position to compete with traditional payment methods.

“We believe we will see rapidly increasing adoption of crypto payments in the next few years,” Louka said. “When you see where the technology is heading, it’s easy to see that crypto will be one of the biggest payment gateways in the future,” he added.

Cryptocurrency payments are faster than conventional methods, allowing customers to buy goods or services immediately without waiting for long processing times. Additionally, crypto payments have several benefits for merchants.

Low transaction fees are among the most significant benefits of crypto for retailers. “For most retailers, especially in the US, credit card processing fees are a major challenge,” Louka said.

“High fees can consume a big chunk of their profits,” he added. “When you see how much credit card companies are charging, it’s easy to see why merchants are becoming interested in crypto.”

Crypto offers an attractive solution for other reasons as well. It allows merchants to accept payments from customers in different parts of the world without paying hefty currency conversion and processing fees.

Moreover, crypto eliminates chargeback fraud, a major headache for retailers. All these factors are making crypto an increasingly attractive option for retail businesses. However, he added that there are still hurdles to overcome.

"So far, the lack of education was the biggest hurdle in adoption," Louka said. "We are working diligently to make sure that we make the crypto payments as easy and intuitive as possible," he added.

Louka said that his company is rethinking its entire pricing strategy to lean into these trends. The company is lowering fees for merchants across the board to help boost adoption. The priority now, he says, is to attract more merchants to the space.

“We believe that by onboarding merchants into the crypto space, we can unlock a huge market and boost adoption,” Louka said. “Crypto may be in a bear market, but we should be bullish about the technology,” he concluded.

Crypto payments could potentially boost crypto adoption as people get more familiar with the asset. This could positively affect the crypto market in the long run.