Skip to content
Crypto payments are well on their way to becoming a mainstream payment option, with the power to change how we shop online forevermore. More than changing how we shop online, crypto has the power to improve how we shop online, providing greater flexibility, freedom, and privacy for each transaction. Merchants and businesses are beginning to onboard crypto payments, opening themselves up to new streams of revenue from consumers who have already embraced digital assets for transactions. At ForumPay, we help facilitate crypto payments for merchants concerned about the risk of holding cryptocurrency received as a tender, by converting crypto payments into the equivalent fiat amount the moment payment is initiated. This allows crypto consumers to leverage their digital funds for real-world goods, products and services, while merchants receive their exact asking price with next-day settlement.
Below, we explore some of the areas of commerce most affected by crypto payments, and offer some examples of our own partners who have embraced crypto payments to offer their customers a greatly enhanced shopping experience.
The benefits of crypto over traditional payment methods
Crypto payments offer a range of benefits that appeal to modern consumers, and the businesses that receive their payments. First of all, enhanced security offers a vital advantage. Blockchain technology ensures transactions are immutable and transparent, which not only greatly reduces the risk of fraud for both buyers and merchants, it also eliminates the risk of chargebacks, as every crypto payment is final and irreversible. Secondly, the blockchain’s borderless nature removes the geographical barriers and complications associated with traditional payment methods, such as currency conversion fees and fluctuating exchange rates, making crypto an ideal option for international payments and transactions.
Privacy is another major driver for crypto adoption for both businesses and consumers, the latter of which often express growing concerns about data privacy and transaction tracking. A study by the Reserve Bank of Australia even found that people are willing to pay a premium for privacy-enhanced payment options. All crypto payments are pseudonymous, unlike traditional banking rails that require layers of personal information, thereby reducing the risk of profiling, or data misuse. Beyond payments, blockchain technology is also being harnessed to provide a solution to provenance and authenticity concerns in areas of luxury commerce. By assigning digital identities to items and products, businesses are able to offer verifiable records of origin, manufacturing and ownership, which can help increase consumer trust
Luxury crypto payments
One of the areas of commerce benefitting most from crypto payments is luxury retail. Following a recent report by ForumPay on crypto payments for luxury spending, we found a significant convergence between crypto holder and luxury consumer demographics. 2024 data shows how 65% of crypto owners are aged between 25 and 44 years old, in other words, Gen Z and millennial shoppers. In parallel, projections indicate that by 2030, millennials are expected to account for 50–55% of luxury purchases, suggesting the increasing spending power of younger consumers.
With more funds available among younger consumers, luxury brands are increasingly aware of the values held by these age groups, including a preference for privacy, efficiency and less centralized forms of payment. As such, many luxury companies and brands have begun to onboard crypto payments. In March 2022, Off-White became the first luxury fashion brand to accept cryptocurrency as payment. Luxury brands Gucci and LVMH soon followed suit; Gucci began accepting crypto payments in May, while LVMH started accepting 12 different digital currencies on its U.S. Tag Heuer website soon after.
ForumPay partnerships
One of our most recent partnerships, Thor Metals Group, represents a significant step forward in the precious metals sector. This collaboration aligns TMG with the growing demand for crypto payments, particularly among high-net-worth investors seeking discreet, private and efficient asset diversification. The crypto payment solution provided by ForumPay offers secure, private and seamless crypto payment options for investors and consumers of gold, silver and platinum, allowing them to seamlessly pivot their assets from crypto into precious metals, while bypassing traditional banking or wealth management institutions. As seen above, this method will ensure faster transaction speeds, transparent conversion rates and protection from chargebacks and fraud risk, backed by full compliance with AML and KYC screening.
Another partnership disrupting the online payments space is our partnership with AmmoInvest, the first online marketplace dedicated to ammo as an investment asset, and offering a seamless way for buyers to purchase ammo online using crypto as payment. AmmoInvest customers can now leverage their crypto funds, such as Bitcoin, ether, Litecoin, USDT and USDC, to convert their digital wealth into tangible, tradeable, and practical real-world assets. This partnership modernizes the ammunition industry by offering a flexible, private, transparent and borderless payment option to crypto users looking to diversify their portfolio into a new investment category.
As crypto payments gain greater traction, online consumers are becoming more empowered with more control over how they purchase goods, products and services. This not only enhances the shopping experience but also offers increased security, transparency, and the freedom of borderless transactions. For more information about secure, transparent and compliant crypto payments, or to book a meeting with our team of crypto payment experts, visit forumpay.com and book a meeting.
