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Bitpay

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Monday, October 12th, 2020
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What We Like

Bitpay is considered one of the most flourishing crypto payment gateways, specializing in facilitating merchant accounts to accept Bitcoin payments. One great feature is that merchants have the option of getting paid in “real currency” instead of bitcoin. If this is the route that the merchant chooses, Bitpay will accept bitcoin payment from customers online, but will convert the transaction into fiat currency at an exchange rate that is locked-in. 

Bitpay currently supports eight currencies and can do direct bank deposits in a total of 38 countries. In the U.S., they can perform two-day deposits through ACH. Another great feature is that Bitpay can be integrated easily with Shopify. 

For online and retail merchants, Bitpay also offers a variety of plugins and POS integrations. And more recently, Bitpay has launched a mobile bitcoin wallet as well as a “reloadable” bitcoin Visa card for consumers. 

What We Didn't Like

Despite its praiseworthy partnerships with leading payment firms including Paypal, WordPress, NewEgg, and Microsoft, Bitpay’s credibility comes into question when it comes to its dealings with its customers. There were numerous negative reviews found online. The reviews run the gamut from Bitpay being a scam and ripping people off to exorbitant fees. 

One user accused Bitpay of accepting their money, only to cancel their transaction, then refunding only half of their money. Another reported that their account was suddenly closed without warning. After which no one was available to help the user resolve the issue. There is also an issue with Bitpay’s app, where one user called it “complicated” with “no UX at all in it.” 

The overall impression is that Bitpay has poor customer service with no phone number to reach out for help, exorbitant fees, and very slow performance. 

Merchants are strongly cautioned to research and exercise due diligence before they enter into an agreement with Bitpay. 


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Marketing

Sales

Support

Pricing

Overall

Overview

Founded in 2011 and based in Atlanta, Georgia, Bitpay is a cryptocurrency processor whose platform facilitates the acceptance of bitcoin as payment from customers. Through their mobile checkout process, consumers can have funds transferred from their bitcoin wallet to the merchant’s account. 

One of Bitpay’s key features is their Bitpay Card that operates just like a debit or credit card. The Bitpay Card allows users to utilize their Bitcoins wherever Visa is accepted. 

To get started, merchants only need to create their business account. In addition, merchants can open an individual account that interchanges between crypto and fiat. Once all personal information and required documentation is submitted, merchants will then have the ability to accept crypto payments with the use of the card. 

Bitpay can be used with the following devices: Windows Mobile, Android, and an iPhone/iPad. Its speedy online setup is ideal for online payments. It also comes with two storage wallets. There are more personalizations for users including 40 invoicing languages.

The entire platform is constructed on the bitcoin blockchain. This safeguards users from chargeback fraud and identity theft. The Bitpay Card does come with a 3% processing fee for every transaction. But it also offers a flat rate charge of 1% settlement. 

The Bitpay Visa Card was first launched in 2016, receiving rave reviews from users. The card was initially tied to the Wave Crest Group, a European card issuer. However, shortly after, Bitpay switched its Bitcoin processing from Wave Crest to Metropolitan Commercial Bank. This decision was triggered by a disruption in service associated with Visa. This Visa card enables users to carry out their transactions at a point-of-sale register. 

Cardholders can withdraw Bitcoin “for the equivalent BTC fiat” from an ATM machine. Yet, before they do, their card must be topped up with an equal amount of Bitcoin. This can be easily managed through the Bitpay Wallet Application. 

Bitpay features two wallet services. Both are free solutions for those using Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

The first, CoPay Wallet, is a place where users can store and use their Bitcoin securely. It is an open source and works as a “hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallet.”  An HD wallet provides users with “cryptographically encrypted” keys that are beyond cracking.

CoPay Wallet is also “multi-signature” and therefore allows multiple people to have access to this wallet. This is an excellent feature for group-based transactions where there are multiple administrators. This wallet is compatible with Android, iOS, Linux, Windows OS, and Mac OS. 

The second wallet, Bitpay Wallet, was launched in 2016. This wallet was erected upon CoPay’s Wallet platform. Bitpay Wallet streamlines the customer’s capability to not only convert, but to spend and purchase products via Bitcoin.

Within the Bitpay Wallet, there is a payment feature called Gildera. This allows users to use Bitcoin without having to store them within an exchange wallet. Users can also manage their Bitpay Visa Card through their Bitpay Wallet. In order to check the balance, users can simply go to the menu and load their balance. Only if users are using Bitcoin can they get a flat rate free for loading the balance. It also includes the multi-signature feature.

Marketing

Bitpay seems to rely primarily on its website and conventional advertising methods in order to market its services. 

Honesty

As previously discussed, there are numerous negative reviews from users of the Bitpay platform that have experienced poor service, their funds taken, refunds denied, accounts closed without warning, and support virtually non-existent. Again, merchants should do their due diligence and proceed with extreme caution before doing business with this company. 

Sales

Bitpay does not seem to employ any independent sales agents within the company.

Support

As far as customer support, Bitpay only seems to offer email support to the majority of its customers. Live support is only available to large companies. 

Regardless of what is offered, the general consensus among many negative reviews concerning Bitpay’s customer service include that it is mostly non-existent, incompetent, unhelpful, and mostly poor.

Pricing

Since Bitpay is not required to go through Visa or Mastercard’s payment gateways, it is able to bypass any interchange rates and payment processing fees. These include setting up fees, monthly minimum fees, statement fees, chargeback fees, and PCI Compliance fees.

Standard risk businesses are only charged a 1% per transaction fee, with no further charges. 

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