A brief explanation of cryptocurrency payment gateways 

A cryptocurrency payment gateway, also known as crypto payment processing provider, is a payment processor for digital currencies that enables merchants to accept cryptocurrency payments for goods and services. Some cryptocurrency gateways enable merchants to receive fiat currencies immediately in exchange, so the merchant doesn’t need to hold cryptocurrencies on their balance sheet. The crypto payment processor acts as an intermediary between a merchant and their customer at the point of transaction. This can be online (eg ecommerce) or in-store, with a physical POS device. 

Here's how a cryptocurrency payment gateway typically works.

Integration

Merchants integrate the cryptocurrency payment gateway into their checkout software. This integration can be done through low code solutions like plugins and hosted payment pages, APIs, or other software tools provided by the gateway service. It can take anywhere from 2-8 weeks depending on your setup and internal resources.

For in-store payments, retailers will also usually require a physical device (similar to a card reader), which integrates with their POS system. 

Customer payment

When a customer chooses to pay with a cryptocurrency at checkout, they are presented with options to select their preferred digital currency, the market exchange rate, and the wallet address (often represented by a QR code) to send the payment to.

Payment processing

The payment gateway provider processes the transaction, verifying the cryptocurrency payment details and ensuring that the customer has sent the correct amount.

Confirmation

Once the transaction is confirmed on the blockchain network, the crypto payment processing provider notifies both the customer and the merchant about the successful payment.

Settlement

If the retailer has chosen to receive payment in a cryptocurrency, the payment gateway provider will forward the funds to their wallet directly, minus fees. For fiat settlements, the crypto payment processor will convert the cryptocurrency and send the fiat funds to the merchant’s bank account. Some payment gateways offer instant conversion, while others provide daily or periodic settlements.

Learn how to accept crypto payments on your website with our practical guide and video.

9 best cryptocurrency payment gateways for international business   

Merchants that want to offer a cryptocurrency option at the checkout have plenty of cryptocurrency gateway providers they can choose to work with. The key selection criteria should include the range of cryptocurrencies that can be accessed, speed of processing, fees (including exchange rate markup), ease of technical integration, and security. Read our Buyer's guide to blockchain and crypto payments.

In this section, we profile 9 cryptocurrency payment processors that international businesses should consider. These are BitPay, BTC Pay, BVNK, Coinbase, Coingate, CoinsPaid, CryptoPay, Coinremitter and NOW Payments.

BVNK

We couldn’t have this top 9 list and not include ourselves! But honestly, we do think we deserve our place here. Hundreds of businesses around the world use BVNK’s regulated infrastructure to build and launch powerful crypto payments products, without having to become regulated themselves. We also offer fiat payments, enabling our customers to move seamlessly between financial worlds all in one simple API platform. We enable businesses to send, receive, store, and convert any currency at internet speed, processing billions of dollars in transactions every year.

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Website: bvnk.com/payments
‍Founded: 2021
Headquarters: London
Number of cryptocurrencies offered: 13
Payment volume: 5bn annualised transactions volume 
Main services: Stablecoin settlements and currency conversion, on/offramps, payments and payouts in 20+ fiat currencies and 13 cryptocurrencies, multi-currency wallets for businesses, wallet-as-a-service for whitelabel solutions.
Regulatory licences: BVNK is a globally regulated payments platform with 8 licenses and regulatory approvals, giving you safe, reliable access to global payment. BVNK group is licensed as a Financial Services provider in South Africa by FSCA, as a Virtual Assets Service Provider by the Bank of Spain, as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) in the UK by the FCA and as an EMI in Europe by the Malta Financial Services Authority.

In our words: “By bridging banks and blockchains in a single API platform, we've created modern rails for moving money. With BVNK, businesses can send and receive stablecoin payments, convert between currencies and add crypto payments to their checkout. Using our flexible platform, and robust global licensing and compliance expertise, innovators can launch new payments products quickly and compliantly."

BitPay

Website: bitpay.com
Established: 2011
Headquartered: Georgia, US
Number of cryptocurrencies offered: 16 
Transaction volume: 10m transactions worth $5bn since 2011
Business services: Payments, billing, payroll, other payouts, wallets 
Fees: <$500kUSD monthly transactions = 2% + 25¢, $500k-<$1mUSD = 1.5% + 25¢, >$1mUSD = 1% + 25¢
Regulatory licences: Multiple US federal licences, not stated for other jurisdictions
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In their words: “Accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, gain new customers, and avoid the cost of high fees and chargebacks. From setup to settlement, BitPay makes accepting these payments easy.”

BTCPay Server

Website: btcpayserver.org
Established: 2017
Headquartered: None (open source project)
Number of cryptocurrencies offered: 1 (bitcoin)
Business services: Payments, wallets, invoicing and accountancy
Fees: None (self-hosted solution)  
Regulatory licences: Not stated

In their words: “Create a Point-of-Sale app for your store, easily embed a tipping button on your website, send a payment link to a client across the globe, or launch a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for your cause.”

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Coinbase 

Website: coinbase.com/commerce

Established: 2012
Headquartered: San Francisco, US
Number of cryptocurrencies offered: 10
Transaction volume: $92bn for last quarter (including trades)
Business services: Payments, custom checkout design, invoicing, reporting, wallet
Fees: 1% + free currency conversion when using their managed wallet solution
Regulatory licences: Multiple licences in US, UK, APAC and EU

In their words: “Get started in minutes with our self-managed product. Accept a growing number of cryptocurrencies and convert to cash or stablecoins. Open your business up to customers around the world.”

CoinGate

‍Website: coingate.com
Established: 2014
Headquartered: Lithuania
Number of cryptocurrencies offered: 70
Transaction volume: 3.8m since launch
Business services: Payments, trading, billing
Fees: 1% (payments), 0-1% (fiat withdrawals), 1-8% (currency purchases with fiat)
Regulatory licences: Not stated
In their words: “Collect payments, send billing invoices, convert payouts to fiat currency or keep the cryptocurrency. All with one unified platform.”

CoinsPaid

Website: coinspaid.com
Established: 2014
Headquartered: Estonia
Number of cryptocurrencies offered: +20
Transaction volume: Approx 1m transactions monthly; 41m transactions worth $23bn since launch up to April 2023
Business services: Payments, exchange/OTC, whitehat SaaS, wallet
Fees: 0.8%
Regulatory licences:  Estonia

In their words: “Our Crypto Payment system helps any type of online business accept crypto payments and receive an equal amount in the national currency of their choice instantly or hold it and pay with crypto to their partners and affiliates.”‍

Coinremitter‍

Website: coinremitter.com
Established: 2017
Headquartered: Singapore
Number of cryptocurrencies offered: 12
Transaction volume: 12.64m transactions since launch
Business services: Payments, invoicing, wallets, coin listing
Fees: 0.23%  
Regulatory licences: Not stated

In their words: “Coinremitter is a cryptocurrency payment processor that lets merchants process errorless, fast and secure crypto transactions.”‍

CryptoPay 

‍Website: business.cryptopay.me
Established: 2013
Headquartered: Estonia
Number of cryptocurrencies offered: 16
Business services: Payments, exchange, bulk payouts
Fees: c.1%
Regulatory licences: Not stated

In their words: “Accept payments from your clients in crypto? Whether you want a ready-to-go or a highly customisable solution, we’ve got you covered.”

NOWPayments

‍Website: nowpayments.io
Established: 2019
Headquartered: Netherlands
Number of cryptocurrencies offered: 50
Business services: Payments, billing, bulk payouts, POS terminals
Fees: 0.4% (for payment and settlement in same cryptocurrency) and 5% for different cryptocurrencies. 
Regulatory licences: Not stated

In their words: “Teaming up with NOWPayments is an easy and safe way to accept instant crypto payments in your business – be it a big e-commerce marketplace or a tiny indie store.”

How to choose the best cryptocurrency payment gateway for your business

Businesses have lots to consider when selecting the most appropriate cryptocurrency payment gateway processor. In this section, we’ll suggest the key criteria you should use to judge prospective service providers. Learn more in our Buyer's guide to blockchain and crypto payments.

Fees

Have a clear understanding of how a payment gateway makes their money. Most payment processors charge a flat fee per transaction and a % of the value of the payment. This can be anywhere between 0.5% and 3%, depending on the payment method, your partner and your volumes (most providers offer volume discounts). For cryptocurrency payments, expect fees around 1%. For payments which involve converting different currencies, payment gateways will often add a markup to the exchange rate. This is often a hidden cost and may on the customer at the point of transaction.

The payer also pays a network fee, which depends on blockchain network congestion. In July 2023 for example, someone making a payment via the bitcoin blockchain would pay an average of US$1.3.15.

Processing and settlement times

Processing and settling in cryptocurrencies is near instant, but may be slowed down by the volume of other transactions being processed on the blockchain at the time. A crypto payment processor that leverages multiple blockchains can mitigate these delays. Some providers also offer to guarantee a crypto payment before the transaction has been verified on the blockchain, giving the merchant an instant response.

If a business wants to settle a crypto payment into fiat, the payment gateway will need to convert the crypto and transfer the fiat across banking rails. A number of factors will influence how fast this can happen, including how quickly a settlement is initiated, and the arrangements that the payment processor has in place with banks and liquidity providers.

Ease of deployment

Low-code deployment options, such hosted payment pages, make it easy to get started with a payment processing partner. These tend to be fast to deploy and also have the benefit of being thoroughly tried and tested, so merchants can be confident they're optimised for payment conversion. For merchants looking for more control over their payments, such as a customised payer experience, then APIs and developer docs will be important. In this scenario, the crypto gateway provider should still be judged on their willingness and ability to offer guidance and support. Also look for compatibility of the payment gateway solutions with other payments, financial software and point-of-sale (POS) systems.

Payer experience

Cryptocurrency payment journeys are still maturing and the industry has some work to do to replicate the 'one-click' payment experience that consumers have come to expect in ecommerce for example. Still, some crypto payment experiences are better than others. Make sure you opt for a payment gateway with proven hosted payments pages that have been tested and optimised for payer experience and conversion, for example by including integrations with popular crypto wallets or making it easy to select the most popular cryptocurrencies. If you're building a journey from scratch, look for a provider that can advise you on how to build the highest converting payment journeys.

Customer support

Its might be easy to sign up to a crypto payment provider, but it's not always easy to get the support you need afterwards for ongoing payment queries. Look for a provider with a well-resourced customer support team, including dedicated account managers and on-hand technical teams when needed – and with the hours of operation that you will need. Ask them to describe their onboarding experience – that is usually a good barometer of the support levels you can expect going forward.  

Compliance

Cryptocurrency regulation is continually evolving around the world. It’s crucial to have a payment gateway provider that keeps on top of what’s needed, has a strong risk and compliance team, and is authorised in a place known for strong regulatory oversight (if they’ve made the grade there, it’s likely they’ll have risk and compliance controls you can trust in). Your partner should apply similar risk and compliance controls to other types of payments, including a detailed governance and oversight framework, a programme of enhanced due diligence on customers and regular, independent reviews to ensure their systems and controls are effective. 

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Why BVNK is different to other cryptocurrency payment gateways

We prioritise regulatory obligations and risk mitigation – which is why around a quarter of our team work in risk and compliance roles. With licences in Europe, the UK and South Africa, and a licensing roadmap in Africa and Asia, BVNK is placed to become one of the most regulated cryptocurrency payment processors anywhere in the world. 

We make it simple and safe to operate across traditional and blockchain payments, ensuring regulatory clarity by separating fiat and blockchain products under distinct regulatory regimes and subsidiaries.

We integrate with best-in-class compliance solutions to provide real-time transaction monitoring for AML, KYT, and Travel Rule directly from the BVNK platform.

BVNK supports hundreds of merchants to process billions in transactions every year. Our platform enables businesses to accept and send payments in the 13 most popular cryptocurrencies and 20 fiat currencies, without making changes to treasury operations. Our product has been built working with customers to understand their needs and expectations of an effective payment journey.

Read how Trade Nation unlocked new business in Asia and increased deposits by 260% with BVNK

FAQs

What is a cryptocurrency payment gateway?

A cryptocurrency payment gateway, also known as a crypto payment processor, is a solution or provider that enables businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments. It is typically an online solution that is integrated into a business’ checkout page, but can be a physical device. A cryptocurrency payment gateway acts as an intermediary between the buyer, the seller and the blockchain network, facilitating secure and efficient transactions. Some cryptocurrency payment processing solutions enable merchants to receive fiat currencies immediately in exchange, so the merchant doesn’t need to hold cryptocurrencies on their balance sheet. 

What are the benefits of using a cryptocurrency payment gateway?

The main benefit for businesses of using a cryptocurrency payment gateway is the ability to take payments in cryptocurrency from customers or other businesses. This is important when selling products and services in countries where cryptocurrencies are popular payment methods, where the domestic fiat currency is subject to inflationary spikes, or where there are high levels of exclusion from traditional banking and payment services. Cryptocurrency payments are typically faster and less expensive to process than established bank and card networks, so merchants can also save costs and improve their cash flow position. 

What’s the difference between ewallets and payment gateways?

Ewallets, also known as digital wallets or mobile wallets, are primarily used for storing payment methods and associated information. When an ewallet is used to make a payment, it simply passes this information through its app to the point of checkout. Payment gateways, on the other hand, are technology infrastructure that process the payment, including verifying the payer and payee, checking funds, routing the payment, and notifying settlement. 

Which payment gateway is most secure?

When evaluating the security of a cryptocurrency payment gateway, look for providers who take multi-layered approach to protect digital assets safe. This should include robust security protocols like data encryption and two-factor authentication (2FA), partnerships with specialist digital custody providers when needed, a best practice approach to treasury management including never commingling funds, and robust AML and KYC controls, including  ongoing transaction screening and  monitoring programmes.

How can I integrate a cryptocurrency payment gateway into my website?

There are a number of ways that a business can integrate a cryptocurrency payment gateway into its website. Many crypto payment processing providers offer low codes options like hosted payment pages and/or plugins or extensions for popular e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce, Magento, Shopify. If you have a custom-built website or want more control over the integration, you can use the payment processor's API documentation to integrate it directly into your website's code. This method requires programming knowledge. With most methods, you should be able to configure the payment gateway settings according to your preferences. This may include selecting the cryptocurrencies you want to accept, setting up notifications, and defining any additional payment-related parameters.