Retailers to drive crypto payments adoption: Survey

A new report reveals over half of its respondents believe cryptocurrency payments give businesses a competitive edge.

Crypto payments might be the innovation companies are looking for. A recent survey by payment network Mercuryo revealed that 57% of respondents believe accepting cryptocurrency payments would give companies a competitive edge. Among the other standout statistics, more than one-third of businesses reported that customers had asked to pay in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) or another digital currency.

Hot on the heels of news that Dogecoin (DOGE) will trial for Tesla merchandise payments and WhatsApp began testing payments with Meta’s Novi wallet, the Mercuryo report highlights that retail payment services will continue to be a key crypto adoption driver.

The report surveyed 501 senior financial decision-makers in the United Kingdom. Almost half of the sample size consisted of large businesses employing over 250 people. Of the respondents, 40% are of board- or director-level management, while the rest are partners or business owners.

Crucially, however, large companies may increasingly lead the way. Of the findings, Petr Kozyakov, CEO and co-founder of Mercuryo, told Cointelegraph:

“Our research highlights that 75% of all large companies believe cryptocurrency will eventually be integrated into every form of financial services.”

He added that 72% of large businesses within the payments sector consider cryptocurrency to be the future of payments. Over 75% saw increased demand from customers and suppliers to offer cryptocurrency as a payment option.

Related: New study reveals high demand for payments in cryptocurrency

In a series of interviews in The Times, smaller businesses such as e-bike retailers, shoe brands and fintech startups have expressed their conviction for cryptocurrencies as an asset for companies. While Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments make up a small percentage of their total sales, they say it’s a growing and valued service.

Companies such as BitPay, Coinbase and Block are on hand to facilitate businesses’ transition into accepting cryptocurrency payments. Still, it’s not as easy as receiving your salary in crypto — a fast-growing trend and a magnet for attracting top talent in 2021.

According to Kozyakov, “building these complex cryptocurrency infrastructures in-house often takes, in some cases, years to complete.” As is the case with new technologies, “there are still barriers to implementation which are slowing down the pace of adoption.”

The report indicates that a lack of clear regulatory clarity within the market was cited by 33% of respondents as a barrier to entry, whereas 27% stated the vulnerability to scams is concerning, and 28% are worried about exchange rate fluctuations.

While the cryptocurrency market capitalization has proven its worth, sitting above $2 trillion for most of 2021, it’s clear that educating traditional retailers about their use case as a payments technology will still take some time. However, as the industry has proven time and time again, Kozyakov concluded, “it will be the early movers who will reap the rewards.”