In recent years, cryptocurrency use has become increasingly common worldwide. It has evolved from what it used to be at its inception. Today, there are numerous ways you can use the currency that, includes using it to pay bills.
Yes, knowing how to pay bills with crypto enables you to use it to pay for a variety of items. In fact, new platforms are being constantly developed that facilitate this use of cryptocurrency.
However, you may be curious to know whether using this digital currency is actually a cost-efficient option. This article will walk you through the process of paying with cryptocurrency and the pros and cons associated with it.
The Process of Using Cryptocurrency to Make Payment
This process involves a few different steps. Here’s what you need to pay using digital currency.
- Acquire a crypto asset to facilitate the payment.
- Next, sign up for a suitable crypto wallet. This will let you pay directly from your crypto wallet.
- While signing up for a wallet, check whether it is supported by your cryptocurrency.
- Now, contact your utility provider and find out whether you can utilize digital currencies to make the payment.
Things to note when deciding to pay with cryptocurrency
- There are many crypto exchanges, such as Binance and Coinbase, that facilitate the exchange of currency for fiat and fiat currency. They also store private keys. But if you don’t want to rely on third parties for keys, go with the self-custody option.
- While choosing a crypto wallet, it’s a good idea to check with your cryptocurrency exchange. Many exchanges provide wallets for private keys.
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Pay Bills Using Crypto Cards
A prevalent way to use cryptocurrency to pay bills is through debit or credit cards. Popular platforms such as Binance, Wirex, Coinbase, and Crypto.com have released their versions of crypto-enabled debit cards in recent years.
If you are wondering how to pay your bill with cryptocurrency cards, you can do so on an exchange platform. After that, you can use a card issued to you for payments with the businesses that accept the particular processor.
You can pay bills like rent or mortgage, car payments, and credit card statements. Phone bills, internet bills, electricity, and service bills can also be paid using crypto cards. You can also pay for student loans and gym memberships from your crypto wallet or crypto debit card. However, before using digital currency, remember to check if your jurisdiction of residence treats them legally.
There are some perks to using crypto debit cards for using payments.
- Most of them do not subject you to exchange rate expenses. Cryptocurrencies are decentralized. So, converting Bitcoin into US dollars will give you the same amount of money irrespective of your geographic location.
- You can spend cryptocurrency like Fiat easily.
- Many cards provide a lot of cashback rewards in crypto.
- Some issuers can waive ATM withdrawal fees.
Using Bitcoins to Pay Your Bill
Bitcoin or BTC is accepted as a payment method by various businesses such as Wikipedia, Shopify, and Microsoft. Here’s how to use this digital currency to pay your bills or other routine expenses.
Bitcoin debit cards
One of the simplest ways to use digital currency to pay bills is through Bitcoin debit cards. These cards turn your Bitcoin into EUR or USD when used at a merchant’s place.
This transaction will make you incur a small processing fee. The cards will make the merchant get paid in their usual currency. Moreover, with Bitcoin debit cards, you can also sign up for an automated pay system, as is the case with your usual debit/credit card.
Some great Bitcoin debit cards include the following:
- WageCan – It links with more than 30 million ATMs worldwide. You can buy anything that accepts the Visa.
- Shift – This Bitcoin card connects with the Coinbase wallet for bill payment. It does not make the user incur any conversion fee to dollars.
- SpectroCoin – It is an all-around solution that offers merchant processing, mobile applications, and cryptocurrency wallets, among others. Store owners can accept payments in Dash NEM or Bitcoin.
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Bitcoin bill pay services
There are various bill-pay services powered by Bitcoin that let you pay bills on a definite schedule. These enable you to set up auto-pay payments from your wallet. Some also allow you to keep your Bitcoins anonymous while making payments.
- Coinstransfer, based in the U.S., gives users the option for one-time payments or configuring recurring payments.
- Bill Pay for Coins works through a simple process of letting the user select from a list of businesses they wish to pay their bills with. After that, they only need to make the payment.
Pay directly using Bitcoin.
You can also use Bitcoin to make payments directly. All you need is to find whether the merchants you want to purchase goods/services from accept BTC. Currently, you can pay directly via Bitcoin while availing the services or products from the following companies:
- Whole Foods
- Virgin Airlines
- Microsoft
- Overstock
- Save the Children
The Benefits of Paying Bills with Cryptocurrency
There are indeed several advantages of knowing how to pay your bill with cryptocurrency. Doing so comes with the following pros.
- Cryptocurrency is decentralized and hence anonymous. So, people can perform financial matters without worrying about coming under the prying gaze of authorities.
- Cryptocurrency is geared to be peer-to-peer. This minimizes the involvement of a third party.
- For business owners, chargebacks are very frustrating. Customers often use a product but cancel the payment. This is not possible when they pay with cryptocurrencies. The payments recorded on the blockchain cannot be tampered with.
- Paying bills with cryptocurrency is possible from anywhere. At most, you just need an active internet connection.
- Most people have an internet connection via their smartphones. So, everyone can make and receive payments and loans or access financial services.
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Cons of Paying Bills with Cryptocurrency
Apart from the pros, there are also some cons to paying with crypto. These include the following:
- The transaction fees involved in cryptocurrency transactions are rising. For example, the transaction fee of Bitcoin was over $51 at a point in time.
- Cryptocurrency processes are highly volatile. You cannot do anything to stop the price fluctuations. Sometimes, you may see the price drop while purchasing an item with your digital currency.
- Once an exchange is complete, it is not reversible. You can only get the money back by having the recipient send it back to you. In most cases, this isn’t possible.
- If you misplace the private keys through which access to funds is possible, there’s no way to retrieve them. You can also lose significant money if you’ve been holding it and the prices fall.
Conclusion.
Now you have a greater understanding of how to pay your bill cryptocurrency. Do it either from your crypto wallet or a crypto payment gateway. You should also check with your utility provider if they accept payments in cryptocurrency. For more information on conducting financial transactions using cryptocurrency, contact an expert online.