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What are some ways to make crypto practical? Apart from introducing a plethora of coins, an even better option would be to make day-to-day spending more accessible. After all, what good is crypto if it can’t be adopted by the masses, right?
Think about it, with over 600 million crypto users globally, crypto spending should be the norm. But it’s not as easy. Many are adamant it’s an asset worth holding on to, while some are concerned about the volatility that comes with trading or spending cryptocurrencies.
Despite this, e-commerce has seen a unique growth in crypto acceptance more than any other industry as Etsy and Adidas now allow crypto payments. So even if there’s concern about the volatility aspect which can be solved through stablecoins, there’s an undeniable increase in the demand as businesses explore ways to incorporate crypto payment gateways.
Especially with lower transaction costs, users gravitate towards spending in crypto. While traditional platforms can incur a 3-5% charge crypto fees can be as low as 1%.
Now that we’ve covered the reasons why crypto spending is gaining momentum, let’s look into whether your business needs a crypto payment debit card.
Encouraging True Crypto Adoption With A Payment Debit Card
Coming back to the case of transaction fee volatility, there’s a way to fix that (and no, it doesn’t involve stablecoins). Striga’s crypto payment debit cards have solved the issue of pre-funding your account each time you wish to make payments in fiat.
So now, instead of constantly having to convert crypto to Euros, users can pay by card in fiat at a PoS. Such that even if the BTC price fluctuates, the user won’t lose any value. The Bitcoin always stays in Bitcoin and gets converted only when making payments.
So let’s say your European end users were to travel outside of the EU, they can use their BTC Visa card and pay by card in local currency without losing money on exchange rates.
The crypto card trend is likely to take over as user preferences shift more towards digital and online payments. Whether it’s cross-border or local, there’s a need for instant, cheaper, and transparent transactions. Exorbitant fees and delays can no longer be excused — and so businesses must adapt.
Traditional payment processing methods such as SWIFT won’t stop existing, but crypto remittance can take over as a more feasible alternative.
Learn more: SWIFT vs crypto remittance
But this shift in payment habits is not only a tech issue. Businesses must adhere to regulatory compliance if they wish to remain operational.
For a quick update on the recent MiCA regulation, EU companies working with cryptocurrencies and stablecoins need to comply and secure relevant licenses. This will impact small to medium scale businesses as licensing can be capital-intensive. Already burdened with a competitive fintech market, the regulation is an added stress for SMBs.
But all hope is not lost.
Product Expansion While Staying Lean
Other than the increasing regulatory complexities, startups and small-scale fintechs today have much to compete with. Especially as AI makes its way into practically every industry, the pressure to build standout products is enormous.
The focus should be on enhancing customer experience by retaining existing ones while also identifying high-value ones. Often this leads to product expansions that don’t necessarily solve a user problem. So while it might be enticing to innovate on something that is currently hot, it may not promise a hot ROI.
One way to streamline the production process is by constantly evaluating user needs and demands. Then, figure out solutions that promise long-term rewards while keeping the budget optimized.
So let’s say the end users are enjoying your crypto exchange wallets platform and you have managed to build a loyal customer base. Your users now wish to use their crypto coins for everyday purchases and pay by card. You can offer them a payment debit card to reduce any potential drop-off from your exchange app.
Based on your business capacity, you could either go the licensing route wherein you tackle the card networks and partnerships yourself. Or, take the smarter and much more economical route, and partner with a cards program manager — like how Bitwala did.
So instead of managing 8+ intermediaries and financial institutions, you simply sign up at Striga.
Simplifying The Payments Playground with Crypto Payment API
The MiCA regulation has businesses contemplating their next move. Should they go the licensing route and invest capital into development and compliance teams? Or partner with a licensed service provider to keep it simple?
Well, that depends. For businesses that have a competent tech and compliance team and can meet the capital requirements, going the licensing route could be the logical choice.
But for most SMBs, investing intensively into building a team and raising capital would mean spreading themselves thin. In such cases, a strategic partnership with service providers sounds like a practical choice.
And that’s exactly why Striga’s crypto payment API integrations exist. To cut down on production and compliance costs and allow businesses to launch within weeks.
As a licensed entity, Striga takes care of crypto compliance in-house. This means that all the transaction monitoring, KYC/AML checks, and reporting are done internally to reduce oversight. So in a way, Striga provides fintechs with the crypto payment API building blocks and a pre-licensed runway so they can focus on expanding their product offerings and reach newer markets.
Striga Crypto-native Banking as a Service:
Your path to building and launching financial products
Join the financial businesses that use Striga’s cloud platform to delight their customers and launch their own products without the complexities that come when dealing with core banking solutions’ relationships, licensing, compliance and payments methods.
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