paying with bitcoin

How to Pay With Bitcoin

Bitcoin is just one out of the several virtual or digital currencies that is fast gaining popularity among lovers of the digital payment system. In a layman’s view, Bitcoin transaction is the transfer of virtual currency from one person to another. It was the foremost virtual currency that succeeded in eliminating the middleman by developing a decentralized, global market which requires just an internet connection to work. Making a successful Bitcoin transaction entails setting up a digital wallet and acquiring some currency to store in it. Once you have your stash of Bitcoin, you can decide to use it as an investment or keep it as your disposable cash to spend any time you come into contact with a vendor that accepts virtual currencies as a form of payment. By so doing, you will be able to avoid the banks as well as the payment processors. To successfully accomplish a bitcoin transaction, you need an address because the digital currency is usually sent to an address, not to a person or company. Below are eight ways to make payment with Bitcoin.

Get a wallet

Yes, it is very possible to settle your bills with your bitcoin wallet and thousands of people have already cued into this virtual payment system. So many enlightened individuals have taken it upon themselves to move the decentralized economy forward by forcing vendors to take cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin more seriously. The first thing you need to do is to get a Bitcoin Cash Wallet which comes in the form of an app that enables the holder to receive, spend or hold Bitcoin Cash.

The next step is to stash your wallet with Bitcoin cash, if you don’t already have, you can purchase one. Exchanges are accessible worldwide and you are free to convert any currency of your choice into Bitcoin or even convert Bitcoin back into traditional currency. Exchange rate differs with every country, so you need to do thorough research before making a decision. Once your wallet is funded, you can go ahead to experience how fast, convenient and secure it is to make a payment with Bitcoin, no need of entering any sensitive card information, payment simply move from your wallet app to the receiver’s wallet app. There is a 15-minute payment window, fixed BTC or BCH prices are only guaranteed by BitPay for this period. After this period, an invoice becomes expired and you cannot send payment to an expired invoice.

Bitcoin debit cards

You can also settle your bills through the use of a Bitcoin debit card which is considered as the missing link between the traditional market space and the crypto market. Crypto Debit Cards are designed to function in two different ways, but mostly, it uses a protocol that has the capacity to convert your available crypto into fiat currency once you swipe your card, it usually attracts a little processing fee. Any vendor that accepts credit cards like Visa cards can also accept your crypto debit card. Just like the regular debit or credit cards, you are free to sign your Bitcoin Debit Card up for automatic bill payments.

Welto.io

If you are the type that loves to settle your bills with Bitcoin, the Welto.io is there at your disposal. With Welto.io, users are allowed to make direct payment from their Bitcoin wallet possibly with a combination of fiat currency and crypto. In spite of the $300 payment limit and 2% flat fee for the transaction. The good news also is that Welto is experiencing fast expansion.

Living Room of Satoshi

This crypto bill payment system originated from Australia and is already growing fast in that country. The startup was in 2014, but presently, it processes like $1 million per week in minor bills for users of BTC in Australia. The payment system is unified with the BPAY bill system to enable its users to access the most popular service providers available. The Living Room of Satoshi is an excellent and informative platform, it gives you access to at least 14 days transaction history by category, and this data can be useful for record keeping. It accepts bills on credit cards, gas, electricity, phone and internet. It even goes as far as allowing you to pay your rent with crypto.

Direct payment of bills

Always inquire if your service provider or vendor accepts Bitcoin directly as a form of debt settlement, you may be surprised that they are already into Bitcoin and may even have plans to integrate it in the future completely. Many large corporations, as well as government agencies, are already cueing into the benefits of accepting digital currencies in their country as a form of payment and we may be closer to the day that taxes and levies will come to be settled through crypto.

Make Use of payment address

Bitcoin transactions require a payment address to work. On the Bitcoin payment network, the payment addresses serve as the usernames or even email addresses. There is the need for you to know the payment address of someone you want to make a digital payment to. The payment addresses come in the form of a long string of numbers and letters integrated together. Go ahead and add a friends Bitcoin address to your wallet and you are ready to make payment to her in Bitcoins.

QR codes

QR Codes can be used instead of long addresses, and this makes payment faster. The only thing you are required to do is scan a QR Code using a smartphone, this instantly places the details of a transaction into the various “send” fields of your Bitcoin wallet. The QR Code payment method comes in handy when you have a smartphone with you while shopping. A QR code usually displays on the vendor’s computer or POS, just scan the QR code, press send, and payment is completed.

Future changes for simplicity

While we view QR codes as an improvement on the existing digital payment system, the need to further simplify the process is still necessary. Instead of sending the payment to a long-complicated address which usually comes as a long integration of letters and numbers, you can just send your payment to “Chris” or “Jenny”. Developers are already busy developing this at the wallet level as well as coming up with equal solutions at the protocol level. It may seem inconvenient and clunky to make a Bitcoin payment, but the process to simplify it is already underway.