Top 6 Crypto PSPs That Encrypt Your Payments

Since Satoshi Nakamoto launched Bitcoin back in 2009, it promised a payment revolution in the financial industry -- the possibility to transfer money without intermediaries such as banks. Acting as a medium of exchangeBitcoin seeks to solve the problem of reversibility of electronic payments

However, various factors  -- including volatility, cyber security, regulations, scalability, and ethical concerns -- have hampered cryptocurrency's widespread acceptance. Many banks have blocked transactions involving cryptocurrencies due to security and licensing concerns.

Cryptocurrency failed to become an alternative way for retail clients to pay for goods in everyday transactions, but a number of large third-party payment companies target this blue ocean market, allowing users to transfer and exchange cryptocurrencies with fiat currencies. In this article, Fazzaco would like to introduce some top crypto PSPs that can meet your crypto trading and transaction demands.

1. Visa

The global payments technology company Visa accepted a virtual currency payment for the first time in March 2021, allowing the use of the USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin crypto that is pegged to the value of the US dollar, to settle transactions on its payment network. At that time, Cuy Sheffield, Visa's cryptocurrency leader, said that Visa is "open for business" for cryptocurrency companies, and that the company aims to make itself the industry's "preferred network" for crypto payments.

In July the same year, Visa announced that it is partnering with 50 of the leading crypto platforms​ including FTX and Coinbase to launch card programs, allowing clients to spend and convert digital currencies at 70 million merchants worldwide. This partnership comes as the payment giant found that its customers spent over $1 billion on crypto-linked Visa cards in the first half of 2021.

2. Mastercard

In February 2021, Mastercard said that it will start supporting select cryptocurrencies directly on its network in that year, but the company did not recommend clients start using cryptocurrencies. Its philosophy on cryptocurrencies is straightforward: It's about choice.

In April, London-based crypto-services firm Nexo partnered with Mastercard to launch a credit card backed by cardholders' cryptocurrencies. The credit card issuerard company recognizes that digital assets are revolutionizing the financial landscape, according to Raj Dhamodharan, Head of crypto and blockchain products and partnerships.

3. Stripe​

Stripe began supporting bitcoin payments back in 2014, becoming the first major payment company to embrace bitcoin as a payment method. Then in January 2018, the company announced that it is winding down support for Bitcoin payments, and will stop processing Bitcoin transactions on April 23, citing a lack of efficiency and rising transaction fees. At that time, the company said that bitcoin itself may become viable for payments again in the future.

In April this year, Stripe announced its support for businesses to pay their users in cryptocurrency​, starting with offering merchants the ability to make crypto payments to their users via USDC. Using Stripe, companies like Twitter can offer creators the choice to receive payments in crypto. 

4. PayPal​

PayPal enabled its users in the US to buy, sell and hold bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash and litecoin in October 2020. However, transferring crypto assets off its platform were not permitted before. The company rolled out Checkout with Crypto, a feature that allowed consumers to check out​ at millions of online businesses using cryptocurrency later in March of 2021.

This year, PayPal launched a new feature that supports the native transfer of cryptocurrencies between PayPal and other wallets and exchanges​ in June. The company gave its customers the flexibility to move their crypto assets (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, or Litecoin) into, outside of, and within its platform.

5. Checkout.com

Online payments company Checkout.com allowed businesses to accept and make payments in USD Coin in June 2022 through a partnership with Fireblocks​. The company's crypto offering will initially support only USDC. In the future other digital currencies might be added.

As detailed in a report conducted by Checkout.com, crypto is rapidly gaining in appeal among younger demographics in particular, with 40% of consumers aged 18-35 globally wanting and planning to use cryptocurrencies to pay for goods or services in the next year. This increased consumer openness to cryptocurrency marks a substantial shift in attitude from digital currencies being seen as solely an investment vehicle to a means of doing business on a regular basis. 

"Checkout.com sees the potential for cryptocurrency to not only transform the way people transact, but also to potentially reinvent the dynamics of the entire digital economy," said Mo Ali Yusuf, Regional Manager for Checkout.com in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan (MENAP).

6. BitPay

​Founded in 2011, BitPay pioneered blockchain payment processing, aiming to transform how businesses and people send, receive, and store money. 

The company offers consumers a complete digital asset management solution that includes the BitPay Wallet and BitPay Prepaid Card, enabling them to turn digital assets into dollars for spending at tens of thousands of businesses. In 2019, the firm facilitated $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency transactions, according to its co-founder and CEO.

In November 2020, BitPay launched a new mass payout service—BitPay Send​, enabling organizations of all sizes to pay employees, affiliates, customers, vendors, contractors and others with cryptocurrency.