How to create a crypto payment gateway?
Cryptocurrencies have become wildly popular lately. Businesses and people love these virtual coins because **transaction fees** are often lower. Demand for **crypto payment gateways** has skyrocketed, offering companies a fresh way to take digital currency payments from customers.
Developing a crypto payment gateway can be a complex and challenging process that requires careful planning and attention to detail. In this article, we will explore the fundamental steps involved in developing a crypto payment gateway, from understanding the market to choosing the right blockchain to identify regulatory requirements.
Whether you are a startup or an established business, this article will provide you with the knowledge and insights you need to develop a successful crypto payment gateway that meets the needs of your clients and differentiates your business from the competitors.
Development timeline
Nowadays crypto payment gateways are quite practical for the financial sector and it’s not overly complicated to develop. There are some consecutive steps that you need to take in order to create a trustworthy, results-oriented crypto payment gateway with plenty of features for your business.
Plan and research
Understanding the market is an essential step in developing a successful crypto payment gateway. The first thing we advise you to do is to analyse the demand for crypto payments in your target market. Research the industries and businesses that are likely to use crypto payments, and understand their requirements and concerns. For example, e-commerce businesses may want to accept crypto payments to cater to international customers or to offer an alternative payment method.
Next, it is important to analyse the competitive landscape. Identify the existing crypto payment gateways in your target market, their features, pricing, and reputation. This information can help you identify gaps in the market and opportunities to differentiate your product from existing solutions.
It is important to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the cryptocurrency payment gateways and what can a crypto payment processor offer at the moment that you can’t. This includes keeping track of new cryptocurrencies and blockchain protocols, as well as emerging trends and technologies. This knowledge can help you identify opportunities to innovate and improve your crypto payment gateway, as well as stay ahead of the competition.
By understanding the market, businesses can develop a crypto payment gateway that meets the needs of their target customers and differentiates their product from existing solutions. This knowledge can also help businesses navigate the regulatory environment and stay up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in the market.
Technical stack
A well-structured technical stack is always helpful in providing the desired functions. Different devs prefer to use a full-fledged package for the projects.
This is an example for a tech stack for developing a crypto payment gateway:
Application and data: NGINX, CloudFlare, Angular JS, Backbone.js
Utilities: Google Analytics, Optimizely
DevOps: G Suite, Ghost
Most important features to consider for your cryptocurrency payment gateway
Before taking your business to the next level it’s important to take into consideration the current crypto payment gateway market. The intricacy and details of the crypto payment gateway will be based on what you demand from it.
Customer due diligence
Give the option to your clients to verify their identity by presenting some of their personal information.
Enrollment
Customers would be able to make a registration on the platform by sharing some of their personal information such as age, contact details and other.
Recuring Payments
While making our own research and discussing crypto payment gateways with our partners, we noticed a gap in the market for recurring payments. A lot of businesses offer monthly subscriptions such as SaaS and look for a crypto payment gateway solution that is a simple, cheap and reliable way to obtain regular monthly payments from their clients. Currently there aren’t many crypto payment gateways that can offer rebills and it’s definitely a field you can explore.
Purchase History
Purchase history and crypto transactions for a selected period of time.
Crypto Wallet
Clients will be able to store the crypto they have relocated in their crypto wallet.
Control Panel
Create a control panel where clients and admins can obtain basic knowledge of the payment gateways all in one place.
Low transaction fees
You might not create the best crypto payment gateway, but low fees certainly attract clients.
Commission Settings
Allow admins to modify the settings of commissions that are generated through various merchants.
MVP Development
Once you have identified the market, chosen the right blockchain, and identified the regulatory requirements, it’s time to start developing your Minimum Viable Product (MVP). An MVP is a scaled-down version of your crypto payment gateway that includes only the most essential features and can show performance.
The goal of an MVP is to test your concept, gather feedback from users, and iterate on your product based on that feedback. By focusing on the core features that are most important to your target market, you can quickly validate your idea and refine your product to meet the needs of your customers.
When developing your MVP, it’s important to prioritise the features and functionality that are most important for your users. This may include features such as wallet integration, payment process and transaction history. By focusing on these core features, you can create a streamlined user experience that is easy to use and understand.
It’s also important to consider the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) when developing your MVP. A well-designed UI and UX can make all the difference in how users perceive your product and how likely they are to use it. By conducting user testing and gathering feedback, you can refine your UI and UX to make your product as user-friendly and intuitive as possible.
Finally, it’s important to prioritise security and compliance when developing your MVP. This includes implementing strong encryption, multi-factor authentication and other security measures to protect against fraud and other security threats. It also means ensuring that your platform is fully compliant with all relevant regulations and laws.
In summary, developing an MVP is an essential step in the process of building a crypto payment gateway. By focusing on the core features that are most important to your users and prioritising security and compliance, you can create a product that meets the needs of your customers and helps to differentiate your business from competitors.
Design
Clear-cut and tidy is what you should aim to when creating the interface as it’s the first thing the client will see when entering the app. A well-designed UI and UX can make all the difference in how users perceive your product and how likely they are to use it.
Testing and debugging
Reaching testing and debbuging is the final stage of the development process which is done by carefully investigating for mistakes and glitches.
Make sure you comply with the regulations
The regulatory landscape for crypto payments is complex and constantly evolving, and it is important to understand the legal and compliance obligations in your target market.
The first step is to research the regulatory requirements in your target market. This includes understanding the laws and regulations that apply to crypto payments, as well as any licensing or registration requirements for operating a crypto payment gateway. It is important to consult with legal experts to ensure that your payment gateway is fully compliant with all relevant laws and regulations.
In addition to regulatory requirements, it is important to consider compliance obligations. This includes anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) requirements, which are designed to prevent fraud and money laundering. Businesses operating a crypto payment gateway must have robust AML and KYC procedures in place to ensure that their platform is not used for illegal activities.
Another important consideration is data protection. Companies must ensure that they comply with data protection laws and regulations, particularly when it comes to storing and processing personal information. This includes implementing strong data security measures to protect against data breaches and other security threats.
Finally, it is important to stay up-to-date with regulatory changes in the crypto payment industry. Regulations and laws related to crypto payments are constantly evolving, and it is important to stay informed about any changes that may impact your business.
What else to consider?
Think of integrations with vendors
In order for your entire crypto payment gateway system to run smoothly and safely, it’s important to carefully plan out all of the required integrations. The crypto payment gateway is not an independent system which means that it requires integration with other systems and tools through it’s API in order to operate properly. If you want to include another cryptocurrency option for your WordPress site, you’ll need the relevant crypto payment gateway for WordPress.
Balance product features with expected time-to-market
The critical point in any business idea is its timely implementation. You can come up with a crypto exchange unicorn, but does the development of such a solution fit into your go-to-market timeline? Your current plans on crypto payment gateway development will unlikely be relevant in ten years when you’ve finally got to its release. Therefore, balancing the gateway’s functionality and time-to-market is crucial to compete with other crypto solutions providers effectively.
What crypto coins and tokens would I like to support?
Depending on the cryptocurrencies you plan to support, you will need to set up your crypto gateway to work with multiple blockchains. That’s required because various crypto coins and tokens operate on different chains.
In essence, you’ll either build a decentralised exchange similar to UniSwap for swapping tokens or connect to it or a centralised exchange. That’s the only way to ensure accepting as many tokens as possible.
An alternative approach is to focus on a few most popular cryptocurrencies and create your own crypto pools where you’ll store all paid crypto.
Merchants and crypto payment options.
If you want to provide merchants access to the crypto funds they receive, consider creating a dedicated admin area. We at Coinlabz believe some merchants would really love to have a way to manage their crypto.
Usually, crypto payment gateways either convert crypto to fiat currency of your choice or just transfer the cryptocurrency you are paid with into your wallet. There is the so-called fiat to cryptocurrency payment gateways, which allows the customer to pay with traditional money and then convert it to crypto for the merchant.
We think that if merchants could access other popular crypto use case scenarios, like trading, staking, and lending, among others, they would be able to see more benefits. Therefore they would be more likely and less concerned about investing in new payment solutions. Also, they will benefit from additional gains from their assets.
Use a white-label solution
White-label payment gateways allow companies to tailor-make their online checkout process with their own branding by including trademarks, logos and other features instead of building new systems from scratch.
A white-label solution for a crypto payment gateway offers many benefits for businesses, including reduced development costs, faster time-to-market, and the ability to focus on core business functions. By leveraging a white label solution, businesses can provide their customers with a logical, branded payment experience without having to invest in the development of a complex payment system.
White-label solutions typically offer a range of features, including integration with multiple cryptocurrencies, secure payment processing, and APIs for smooth integration with existing systems. The third-party provider manages the underlying technology and maintenance, allowing more time for companies to focus on their main strengths.
Make sure to check this article out if you want to know What is white label crypto payment gateway and how it works.
To wrap it up
In conclusion, developing a crypto payment gateway requires careful planning, attention to detail, and a deep understanding of the market, regulatory landscape, and technological considerations. By following the key steps outlined in this article, businesses can create a secure, scalable, and compliant payment gateway that meets the needs of their customers and helps them to stay ahead of the competition.
As the use of cryptocurrencies continues to grow, a crypto payment gateway offers an exciting opportunity for businesses to expand their payment options and reach a wider customer base. By using the latest blockchain technology and following best practices for security, compliance, and user experience, businesses can create a payment gateway that is not only reliable and efficient but also provides a smooth and intuitive user experience.
Zornitsa is the Editor-in-chief at Coinlabz. She is involved in researching the impact of blockchain technology and the way crypto is transforming peoples’ perceptions of finances.