There are a growing number of services that enable and help merchants accept cryptocurrency payments, but all you really need is a digital wallet.
That’s what Ruben Borukhov, owner of East Village Barbershop in New York, found out when he decided to start accepting bitcoin when he reopened his business at the end of the COVID-related spring 2020 lockdown. 19.
But he didn’t go to a lot of trouble to get there. All he did, Borukhov recalls, was print a “Bitcoin Accepted” sign for the window and open a Coinbase wallet with the US cryptocurrency exchange.
“That was the only marketing I did,” Borukhov said. “I put the sign in the window about two years ago and after that people started talking about it, asking me about it, taking pictures, saying ‘Wow, that’s the first hair salon i saw that takes crypto, do you think take any other crypto other than bitcoin?’ I would say I take any crypto.
Although he now has it on his social media, Borukhov said many people who come in say they’ve seen him accepting crypto in the reviews customers read online.
Just a day earlier, Borukhov said he was talking about crypto, and another customer came over and said, “Without that sign, I would never have entered. That’s why I come here; because you accept it.
This lines up with what PYMNTS found in its 2022 US Crypto Consumer Study, which found that 23% of Americans own or had owned crypto in the past 12 months and many said they would do everything possible to do business with a company that accepts crypto payments. .
See also: The Data Point: 23% of US Consumers Owned Cryptocurrency in 2021
Around 27% of those surveyed said they “definitely” or “probably” prefer doing business with merchants that accept crypto – a number that topped a third for millennials. And broken down by income demographics , 27% of crypto owners say they are “extremely” or “very” likely to switch to a merchant that accepts crypto payments.
more common
Between that sign and when people see others paying in cryptocurrencies, he said, the conversations he started in his shop made him realize “how much my customers actually hold. crypto – that’s a big percentage of the younger generation”.
And while New York’s expensive, popular, and youth-centric East Village isn’t the most representative of neighborhoods, Borukhov said he’d guess half of his young customers own crypto “and 80 percent want it.” talk”. Some are a little skeptical, he adds, but many are interested.
Beyond that, over the past two years, Borukhov said, people have simply come in asking about the bitcoin sign, with the most common crypto payments being made in bitcoin and ethereum, unsurprisingly.
“It brought in, not a lot but a good number” of customers, Borukhov said. Not all are paying customers who need a haircut upon arrival, he added. “But it kicks them out.”
Begin
Unlike many merchants who accept crypto payments by working with payment processors that allow people to pay at the point of sale with crypto while giving merchants dollars, Borukhov said he keeps the crypto he is. paid.
“Right now I’m holding it, I’m a bitcoin fan,” he said.
The checkout process is quite simple, Borukhov added, comparing it to paying with Venmo. “For the younger generation, it’s easier than money,” he said. “They just pull out their phone, click, click, they’re done.”
A few customers took their first steps into crypto at his store, he said.
“They would open their account on Coinbase right away and transfer the money from their bank account to buy bitcoin to send it to me.”
That said, the finality issue for bitcoin, ether and other cryptos comes into play, he said, noting that paying crypto can involve waiting around five to 10 minutes.
Sometimes they hang out to discuss crypto, Borukhov said. Others pay when the haircut begins or even a few minutes before they arrive.
Others don’t pay, but tip via bitcoin, he said. “Then I don’t care, they send me off in 10, 20, 30 minutes when they get home.”
https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2022/bitcoin-wallet-bumps-bakkt-out-september-crypto-wallet-provider-ranking/partial/
There are a growing number of services that enable and help merchants accept cryptocurrency payments, but all you really need is a digital wallet.
That’s what Ruben Borukhov, owner of East Village Barbershop in New York, found out when he decided to start accepting bitcoin when he reopened his business at the end of the COVID-related spring 2020 lockdown. 19.
But he didn’t go to a lot of trouble to get there. All he did, Borukhov recalls, was print a “Bitcoin Accepted” sign for the window and open a Coinbase wallet with the US cryptocurrency exchange.
“That was the only marketing I did,” Borukhov said. “I put the sign in the window about two years ago and after that people started talking about it, asking me about it, taking pictures, saying ‘Wow, that’s the first hair salon i saw that takes crypto, do you think take any other crypto other than bitcoin?’ I would say I take any crypto.
Although he now has it on his social media, Borukhov said many people who come in say they’ve seen him accepting crypto in the reviews customers read online.
Just a day earlier, Borukhov said he was talking about crypto, and another customer came over and said, “Without that sign, I would never have entered. That’s why I come here; because you accept it.
This lines up with what PYMNTS found in its 2022 US Crypto Consumer Study, which found that 23% of Americans own or had owned crypto in the past 12 months and many said they would do everything possible to do business with a company that accepts crypto payments. .
See also: The Data Point: 23% of US Consumers Owned Cryptocurrency in 2021
Around 27% of those surveyed said they “definitely” or “probably” prefer doing business with merchants that accept crypto – a number that topped a third for millennials. And broken down by income demographics , 27% of crypto owners say they are “extremely” or “very” likely to switch to a merchant that accepts crypto payments.
more common
Between that sign and when people see others paying in cryptocurrencies, he said, the conversations he started in his shop made him realize “how much my customers actually hold. crypto – that’s a big percentage of the younger generation”.
And while New York’s expensive, popular, and youth-centric East Village isn’t the most representative of neighborhoods, Borukhov said he’d guess half of his young customers own crypto “and 80 percent want it.” talk”. Some are a little skeptical, he adds, but many are interested.
Beyond that, over the past two years, Borukhov said, people have simply come in asking about the bitcoin sign, with the most common crypto payments being made in bitcoin and ethereum, unsurprisingly.
“It brought in, not a lot but a good number” of customers, Borukhov said. Not all are paying customers who need a haircut upon arrival, he added. “But it kicks them out.”
Begin
Unlike many merchants who accept crypto payments by working with payment processors that allow people to pay at the point of sale with crypto while giving merchants dollars, Borukhov said he keeps the crypto he is. paid.
“Right now I’m holding it, I’m a bitcoin fan,” he said.
The checkout process is quite simple, Borukhov added, comparing it to paying with Venmo. “For the younger generation, it’s easier than money,” he said. “They just pull out their phone, click, click, they’re done.”
A few customers took their first steps into crypto at his store, he said.
“They would open their account on Coinbase right away and transfer the money from their bank account to buy bitcoin to send it to me.”
That said, the finality issue for bitcoin, ether and other cryptos comes into play, he said, noting that paying crypto can involve waiting around five to 10 minutes.
Sometimes they hang out to discuss crypto, Borukhov said. Others pay when the haircut begins or even a few minutes before they arrive.
Others don’t pay, but tip via bitcoin, he said. “Then I don’t care, they send me off in 10, 20, 30 minutes when they get home.”
https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2022/bitcoin-wallet-bumps-bakkt-out-september-crypto-wallet-provider-ranking/partial/