Is merchant account which supports bitcoin good for business?

[TrackMeOtoole]

I'm a small wholesale distributor and most of the dealers are now talking of bitcoin system. I'm new to this concept but found very interesting and it is very much helpful, as it is having lower transaction fees and legal too. But I don't understand why the banks are against this system. Anyways, I was thinking of having a merchant account registered which supports bitcoin services as well. Read about MerchACT who has experience in dealing with such high risk industries, but I'm really not sure what all I should look for. Also, how beneficial are this support towards bitcoin system? Can anyone extent some help by sharing some info regarding the whole process??

[Fremont]

I'm a small wholesale distributor and most of the dealers are now talking of bitcoin system. I'm new to this concept but found very interesting and it is very much helpful, as it is having lower transaction fees and legal too. But I don't understand why the banks are against this system. Anyways, I was thinking of having a merchant account registered which supports bitcoin services as well. Read about MerchACT who has experience in dealing with such high risk industries, but I'm really not sure what all I should look for. Also, how beneficial are this support towards bitcoin system? Can anyone extent some help by sharing some info regarding the whole process??

Hi there TrackMeOtoole,

Welcome the Bitcoin.com forum!

It's great to hear that people you do business with are talking about Bitcoin. Banks are generally not huge fans of Bitcoin as it represents a threat to their business model. Bitcoin allows you to be your own bank, to control your own funds and to transmit them to anyone, anywhere in the world with virtually no charge. Banks are typically middlemen in such scenarios so they stand to lose a lot if Bitcoin were to become large enough to challenge their model.

I have no experience with MerchACT, but if you wish to integrate Bitcoin payments into your business without dealing with the 'ins-and-outs' yourself you could utilise a Bitcoin payment processor such as Bitpay. They can automatically convert your Bitcoin payments to fiat currency and deposit to your bank account, or convert a percentage of them (leaving some as Bitcoin) etc. All the information you need to start accepting Bitcoin today is available on their site.

Welcome to the future of money!

Fremont

[iFixBTCmemoryIssues]

I'm a small wholesale distributor and most of the dealers are now talking of bitcoin system. I'm new to this concept but found very interesting and it is very much helpful, as it is having lower transaction fees and legal too. But I don't understand why the banks are against this system. Anyways, I was thinking of having a merchant account registered which supports bitcoin services as well. Read about MerchACT who has experience in dealing with such high risk industries, but I'm really not sure what all I should look for. Also, how beneficial are this support towards bitcoin system? Can anyone extent some help by sharing some info regarding the whole process??

Having a merchant account for your business is definitely beneficial, even if a large percent of your transactions are Bitcoin.

When you apply for a merchant account at a bank you are going to need to supply company registration documents and certificates, the directors information and identification. If you are approved, you will be assigned a "mid" which is a merchant identification number. This mid allows you to transact Visa and MasterCard purchases with the gateway (the bank).

Since you will be a new customer and most likely considered "high-risk" as all of your transactions are online and not in-person, a % of your funds (usually 10 to 20%) will be held in an account called a rolling reserve. Funds that are held in this account are then given back to you usually after 6 months. Fees for your day to day processing of customers transactions will range from 2.5% to 10%. You may receive these customers funds into your account right away or up to 24 hours, or even every 3 days.

If you need any more help just post your questions!

[iFixBTCmemoryIssues]

I'm a small wholesale distributor and most of the dealers are now talking of bitcoin system. I'm new to this concept but found very interesting and it is very much helpful, as it is having lower transaction fees and legal too. But I don't understand why the banks are against this system. Anyways, I was thinking of having a merchant account registered which supports bitcoin services as well. Read about MerchACT who has experience in dealing with such high risk industries, but I'm really not sure what all I should look for. Also, how beneficial are this support towards bitcoin system? Can anyone extent some help by sharing some info regarding the whole process??

Hi there TrackMeOtoole,

Welcome the Bitcoin.com forum!

It's great to hear that people you do business with are talking about Bitcoin. Banks are generally not huge fans of Bitcoin as it represents a threat to their business model. Bitcoin allows you to be your own bank, to control your own funds and to transmit them to anyone, anywhere in the world with virtually no charge. Banks are typically middlemen in such scenarios so they stand to lose a lot if Bitcoin were to become large enough to challenge their model.

I have no experience with MerchACT, but if you wish to integrate Bitcoin payments into your business without dealing with the 'ins-and-outs' yourself you could utilise a Bitcoin payment processor such as Bitpay. They can automatically convert your Bitcoin payments to fiat currency and deposit to your bank account, or convert a percentage of them (leaving some as Bitcoin) etc. All the information you need to start accepting Bitcoin today is available on their site.

Welcome to the future of money!

Fremont

You beat me to the reply!