Cryptocurrencies are here to stay, and they are gradually transitioning away from a tool for traders to make a quick buck in speculative trades into the future of money. Facebook recently unveiled its plan to build a cryptocurrency that will be used as means of payment and method of exchange especially in countries with geopolitical and socioeconomic uncertainties. The obvious security, privacy, low fees, and P2P speed that cryptocurrencies embody is gradually making them a better means of payment than fiat currencies for online transactions.
However, for merchants who are interested in accepting cryptocurrencies, it might be somewhat difficult to choose the right cryptocurrency payments gateway. This piece provides an objective review of NowPayments, a service launched by ChangeNOW to help merchants accept cryptocurrency payments easily.
NowPayments Overview:
NowPayments is the easiest way to accept cryptocurrency payments on the Internet. It is a non-custodial cryptocurrency payments processor that helps you to receive cryptocurrency payments through a simple widget or native integration with your platform. NowPayments is launched by ChangeNow, a non-custodial, registration-free and limitless cryptocurrency exchange that facilitates real-time swapping of more than 170 cryptocurrencies.
Getting started with NowPayments is incredibly easy. You head over to the NowPayments website and hit the “Start Now” button on the page. Returning users can use the “Sign In” button on the top left corner of the page..
The next screen should look something like the image below where you can input the account opening details.
After filling in the details, you’ll be directed to check your email for further instructions. You’ll find a verification link in your email. Clicking on the link will verify your email and take you to the login page.
After logging into your account, you’ll be taken to the dashboard where you can do more with your account.
From your account, hitting the “Store Settings” button will take you to a page where you can work with APIs and input your own wallet address for the different cryptocurrencies in which you want to get paid.
Features:
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One of the key selling points of NowPayments apart from its simple setup process is the quality of design thinking that went into choosing its major features. Some of the main features of NowPayments that set it apart from its competitors include:
· Hundreds of coins supported
While many cryptocurrency payment processors tend to limit themselves to the biggest and most popular cryptocurrencies, NowPayments allows you to accept the big-name tokens as well as literarily hundreds of smaller altcoins including BCH, BNB, ZEN, XVG, PA. In fact, NowPayments says it is adding between 2 to 5 new coins every week. The best part is that if a partner wants to receive payment in a particular unlisted coin, NowPayments will go out of its way to consider making such payments possible.
· Incredibly easy API integration
The ease with which you can collect crypto payments and get your customers to make payments in crypto is dependent on the quality of the API integration provided by your cryptocurrency payment processor. NowPayments believes that API integration should be simple, transparent, and hassle-free; hence, its API is designed to help you accept multicurrency crypto payments, instantly convert them into your most preferred coin, and automatically send them into your own wallets.
· Automatic Instant Withdrawals
A huge competitive advantage that NowPayments have other crypto payment processors is that it is a non-custodial crypto payment solution. It doesn’t need to hold your payments and then wait for you to manually execute a withdrawal or hit a certain threshold before you get the final settlement of your inflows.
With NowPayments, your payments are automatically sent into your wallet as soon as the network process the cryptocurrency transaction.
· Support for stablecoins
Many merchants are scared to accept cryptocurrency payments because of the inherent volatility associated with cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins are a different kind of cryptocurrencies pegged against a fiat currency to ensure that the price remains stable. Many crypto payments processors don’t support stablecoins because there’s no profit to be made where there’s no volatility. NowPayments however provides support for stablecoins so that you can confidently accept cryptocurrency payments without the fear of volatility.
· 24/7 Customer Support
A smooth payment processing is essential for businesses to manage operational expenses efficiently. NowPayments provides round the clock customer support via its social media accounts and email to deliver INSTANT assistance on any issue that you might experience at any time of the day.
Fees:
NowPayments is incredibly more cost efficient than other payment processors because it is a 100% completely free zero-fee service. Of course, the customer will still need to pay the network fees and the cryptocurrency exchange conversion fee if you are getting the final settlement in a different coin. However, both the network and exchange fee will be deducted from the payment and you’ll get the funds transferred into your wallet immediately.
Can you Trust NowPayments?
· Security
We have examined some of the key features of NowPayments, but we understand that potential users will be interested in the quality of the security provided on the service. NowPayments uses the highest-grade security measures to protect user accounts.
Beyond that, it is a non-custodial service that automatically and instantly sends all your payments into a crypto wallet of your choice. Hence, it eliminates the centralized custodial risks that competitor payment processors tend to court.
· Regulatory compliance
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NowPayments also has a proactive level team that ensures compliance with regulatory requirements and policies. Regulations are designed to protect users and you can be sure that your account is safe with a compliant payment processor.
Conclusion:
In this NowPayments review, we have provided insights on the account opening process, features, API integration, coins supported, security, regulatory compliance, and fees. The fact that it is a non-custodial service is essentially important in ensuring that you have access to your funds as soon as payment is made. However, even though NowPayments offer a free service it might be nice to provide ballpark figures on the range of fees or a live fee calculator feature.
Nonetheless, you should consider giving NowPayments a trial if you are looking for a simple, efficient, easy-to-set-up, and versatile tool for accepting cryptocurrency payments.
