Cryptocurrency payments - PayCek

Cryptocurrency payments on webshops are arriving slowly but surely. Shipshape is ready to support clients in this trend, and our partner in this is the Croatian company Electrocoin and their PayCek — a solution for online cryptocurrency payments.

What are cryptocurrencies?
Cryptocurrencies are digital records of certain values stored in digital databases. Or more simply, a cryptocurrency is digital money, created in digital form as a means of digital exchange. They exist only on the internet and are not issued or supervised by a central bank or the state. Precisely because they are not supervised by a central bank, they are not formally considered money.

Crypto has been a buzzword for some time; today it’s one of the most popular topics in the media and society, but it will soon become as commonplace as credit cards that everyone carries in their wallet today, or digital wallets we carry on our phones — which are increasingly replacing the aforementioned cards.

The chart below (source: Google Trends, term “crypto”) shows the popularity of searches for this term over time. After the peak in January 2018, a few weeks ago a new peak was reached — the so-called all-time high in searches and interest in cryptocurrencies.

Google Trends shows the search frequency of the term “Crypto”
 

The most well-known cryptocurrencies with the largest market valuations (in USD) as of today (March 4, 2021) are:

Top 10 most valuable cryptocurrencies today
The source of this ranking is Coinranking, and even if you access the link on the day this article is written, the order may have changed. 

Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin is the oldest cryptocurrency from which all others developed. Bitcoin is a decentralized “online payment network”; it is not printed and is not controlled by anyone. It operates on blockchain technology.

Ethereum (ETH)
Alongside Bitcoin, Ether is the most popular cryptocurrency. It exists on the Ethereum blockchain and, compared to Bitcoin, has a broader range of applications — primarily through smart contracts that enable various innovative services on the blockchain.

The cryptocurrency market is extremely active. There are several reasons for this — one is relatively low interest rates and returns on traditional savings and investment channels, which encourages investors to look for new ways to grow their money.

Another factor is the involvement of well-known figures like Elon Musk in cryptocurrency trading, since even the financial sphere of our lives is no longer immune to influencers, trends, and surges in popularity based on (intangible) factors.

How to use cryptocurrencies?
Let’s say you have your own wallet with cryptocurrencies and, in addition to trading, you want to use them ‘in the real world’. One way is the Bitcoin exchange, where you can very easily convert your virtual currencies into kuna that will appear in your traditional bank account. This exchange was the first project by Electrocoin and has been available online since 2014 as well as at numerous physical locations across Croatia (in as many as 55 Croatian Post branches and in In Kapital exchanges).

In addition, you can pay with cryptocurrencies in an increasing number of physical stores and on webshops. That’s where PayCek comes in!

Besides its very catchy product name :), PayCek has many great features and advantages for users (both payers and payment recipients), which is why it’s worth considering. 

PayCek cryptocurrency payment service
What is PayCek?
PayCek is an electronic payment service for processing cryptocurrencies intended for physical and online stores, enabling customers to pay in cryptocurrencies while the merchant receives kuna in their bank account.

The idea is that the merchant does not have to deal with or understand cryptocurrencies to allow customers to pay with them. That’s PayCek’s job. If the bill is 100 EUR, the merchant receives a real 100 EUR in their bank account (IBAN).

PayCek supports 6 cryptocurrencies:

BTC - Bitcoin
ETH - Ethereum
XLM - Stellar
EOS
XRP and
DAI.

What is the payment process via PayCek on a webshop?
At checkout on the webshop, the customer reaches the Payment Method Selection. 
Along with the usual payment methods (credit card, cash on delivery, bank transfer, PayPal, KEKS Pay, etc.), the customer sees the option to pay with cryptocurrencies (via PayCek).
The customer chooses cryptocurrencies as the payment method.
The PayCek widget opens, where the customer selects the preferred cryptocurrency.
After choosing the currency, a QR code appears and the customer has 15 minutes to complete the transaction.
The customer scans the QR code with the digital wallet on their phone.
If the customer completes the payment, a green check mark appears indicating the payment was successful. 
The webshop receives information that the transaction was successful and proceeds to process the order.
Paying via PayCek — simple and fast
 

What is the payment process via PayCek in a physical store? 
The merchant sets and enters the price in EUR into the PayCek widget/app/fiscal register.
The customer states their preferred cryptocurrency.
A QR code activated for payment appears on the merchant’s screen.
The customer scans the QR code with their virtual wallet and pays in the desired cryptocurrency.
When the transaction is completed, a green check mark appears on the merchant’s screen.
The merchant automatically receives the amount in EUR.
The merchant can immediately withdraw the funds from their PayCek profile to their IBAN.
 
Why should you integrate PayCek into your webshop?
Every new option you add to your webshop opens access to new potential users — i.e., a new market. We often hear the phrase ‘only a few people use that’. Looking at percentages, that may be true, but they are all your potential customers, and they want to shop somewhere and use their crypto money in a simple and easy way.
 
Additional promotional activity — you’ve likely seen numerous articles on news portals about paying with cryptocurrencies at Croatian Post, at Tifon gas stations, in various hotels and restaurants. This network is expanding daily, and introducing crypto payments is a very interesting novelty for PR and promotion. Use it for your brand as well. 
 
Security first! Over the past 2 years, Electrocoin has executed more than 20,000 transactions (~EUR600 million in volume) without security incidents. An in-house engineering and development team takes care of the platform’s development and security.
 
Legally regulated — Electrocoin and PayCek are supervised by HANFA regarding the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Act and are compliant with other payment traffic regulations. Payments via PayCek are not considered cash transactions and therefore are not subject to the Fiscalization Act for cash transactions (in accordance with Art. 2, para. 6). So if you are not subject to fiscalization and have not had to fiscalize your invoices so far, you still do not have to because you use the PayCek platform.
 
Competitive advantage — offering cryptocurrency payments as an additional payment method definitely sets you apart from the competition, especially if your assortment matches the preferences of a significant number of crypto users (e.g., tech goods, computers, gaming, etc.).
 
Following global trends — just as you strive to offer your customers the latest trends and products from your assortment, with our support you can also follow trends in eCommerce. That’s exactly why Shape Core has included integration with PayCek in its offering.
 
PayCek software, like the Shape Core eCommerce platform, is developed entirely in-house, which gives us flexibility and agility when integrating with a webshop.
For a merchant who decides to integrate with PayCek:

opening an account on PayCek is free
there is no fee for integrating the account with PayCek
account maintenance is free
24/7 support is provided and free
 

There are no fees for the merchant when paying via PayCek.
The transaction cost is borne by the customer — i.e., the person paying with cryptocurrency.

So, to summarize:

the only cost the merchant has is the relatively small initial cost of integrating PayCek into Shape Core, after which you have a payment method with 0% commission. 

How is cryptocurrency payment tracked in accounting?
Once a month you automatically receive all the necessary accounting reports (statements) from PayCek by email. Simply forward them to your accountant and that’s it.

You issue your invoices in kuna and list “other” as the payment method. If “other” isn’t available, then list “payment slip” or “bank transfer” as the payment method.
The invoice number automatically appears in the accounting report from the PayCek system next to the corresponding transaction.
Once a month you receive two reports for your accounting department:
a report of all invoices paid with cryptocurrencies
a report of all bank deposits (money transactions) you received into the company account from PayCek
accounting then matches the data from the reports with the invoices, deposits, and bank transactions.
In the case of a return of goods purchased via PayCek, you decide whether to issue the refund in cash, via bank transfer, PayPal, etc., because the EUR amount from the cryptocurrency transactions was deposited directly into your IBAN.
Custom reporting — the option to deliver reports in .csv, via API, or in any way the merchant prefers.
 

Who already uses PayCek?
Many companies from various industries have already adopted PayCek in their daily operations. With Bitcoin and friends, you can pay for dog food, order craft beer, fill up your car with fuel, or choose from a wide assortment of products on bazzar.hr. 

PayCek users and references

About Electrocoin
Electrocoin is a Croatian company and one of the pioneers in the fintech world of cryptocurrencies. Since its founding, it has received numerous recognitions from the business community (e.g., Poslovni dnevnik, Večernji list) and has been included in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 list for Central Europe as one of the fastest-growing tech companies.

Electrocoin is engaged not only in purely commercial but also socially beneficial projects. For example, they have partnered with the City of Sveta Nedelja, whose citizens can now pay their bills with cryptocurrencies. Through Electrocoin’s platforms, numerous donations in cryptocurrencies have been collected for various organizations (SOS Children’s Village, Children’s Hospital Zagreb – Klaićeva, Plavi telefon, Croatian Red Cross, Klikeraj), and they are also involved in initiatives of the crowdfunding platform Croinvest.eu.

When are you starting with cryptocurrencies?
Our mission is to provide clients with a tailored and advanced eCommerce solution through Shape Core that delivers a competitive advantage. We do this in several ways:

we build webshops to be easy to use for both customers and administrators
we integrate webshops with external systems so that as many processes as possible are automated and executed instantly
we keep up with market innovations and implement them into the Shape Core platform to give our clients an edge over the competition.
That’s exactly how this story about PayCek and Shape Core came to be.

Stand out from the competition and attract a new generation of consumers who want to pay for products and services with cryptocurrencies. PayCek enables simple, secure, and fast acceptance of cryptocurrencies. After the initial integration, the service is completely free of charge and commission for you. No prior knowledge of cryptocurrencies is required, nor any special permits or third-party approvals. Everything is covered from the accounting and legal perspective, and from a marketing standpoint it opens up an excellent opportunity for promotion.