WalletBit, a rapidly emerging
merchant platform positioning itself as a mainstream alternative to BitPay, has
announced a new feature for European merchants: payment by bank deposit. This
feature allows participating merchants to accept Bitcoin without handling the
digital currency themselves. Instead, their earnings will be instantly
converted to local currency and regularly deposited into their bank accounts.
While similar services have been
offered by BitPay since its establishment in 2011, WalletBit aims to stand out
with several advantages. One notable advantage is lower fees. BitPay has
consistently charged a transaction fee of 0.99% for merchants who prefer to
receive their earnings in bitcoins. In contrast, WalletBit has recently reduced
its fees to 0.89%. In the United States, WalletBit’s fee of 2.75% is slightly
higher than BitPay’s 2.69%, but for European merchants, while BitPay’s
commission increases to 3.99%, WalletBit’s rates remain the same.
Another advantage is WalletBit’s
international reach. While BitPay’s European bank deposit service is limited to
Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Finland, and the Netherlands, WalletBit will
enable merchants to receive Euros into bank accounts within the Single Euro
Payments Area, which encompasses a larger number of European countries.
Additionally, Danish merchants can receive Danish krones. WalletBit also
emphasizes its security measures, including ACID and PCI-DSS compliance,
AES-256 encryption for internal data, and the option of three-factor
authentication using Google Authenticator and WalletBit’s SecureCard.
WalletBit has plans for further
development. The company aims to offer support for Canada, but it proceeds with
caution to ensure legal compliance and obtain favorable rates. Additionally,
WalletBit has been improving the usability of its payment systems, particularly
focusing on smartphone and tablet applications. WalletBit Mobile, previously
known as ResponsePay, provides an intuitive wallet for average users. Moreover,
WalletBit will soon introduce a comprehensive point-of-sale solution that
allows stores and restaurants to record orders and accept payments within a
single tablet application.
WalletBit’s efforts to enhance
its features have yielded significant success since September. With the
addition of Adam Harding as Director of Marketing, WalletBit’s transaction
volume has more than doubled since the summer. Founder Kris Henriksen is confident
that the company’s growth will continue as new features are implemented.
Canada, despite its high interest in Bitcoin, remains an untapped market for
the company. WalletBit also aims to expand into brick-and-mortar stores and
restaurants. Currently, out of the 167 merchants on the platform, only one is a
physical store—a small kiosk in Henriksen’s hometown in Denmark. However, with
the upcoming bank transfer feature, WalletBit anticipates a significant
increase in brick-and-mortar merchants joining their platform.
As WalletBit expands its services
and establishes a stronger presence in the market, it is well-positioned to
provide merchants with a compelling alternative to existing payment processing
platforms.
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