Retailers may be missing out by not accepting payments in cryptocurrency, according to a new report by specialised payments platform Paysafe.
The research reveals that a staggering 80% of crypto owners want to pay for goods with their crypto balances but are held back by a lack of cryptocurrency acceptance at the point of sale.
Insider Intelligence predicts that 33.7m US adults will own at least one cryptocurrency by the end of 2022 and a recent UK HMRC report claims that 5 million Brits now own cryptocurrency, with 52% holding up to £100.
Therefore, accepting crypto at the checkout could potentially release millions of untapped revenue for retailers in an increasingly challenging economic environment.
According to Paysafe, current crypto holders most wanted to spend their crypto on ‘big ticket’ items, such as treats for themselves (75%), cars (74%), and property (74%).
READ MORE: Crypto crash: What does this mean for the industry and retail adoption?
However, the majority of crypto owners are optimistic that they won’t have to wait long to go shopping.
Some 91% of those holding crypto believe online payment by crypto will be as common as paying by card or contactless, with 59% hoping this will happen within 5 years.
In addition, 88% believe this will also be the case for in store payments, with 47% hopeful that this will happen within 5 years.
“Crypto asset holders are convinced that crypto is the future of payments and understand that it is here for the long-term,” Paysafe senior vice president of crypto Elbruz Yilmaz said.
“With this positive outlook for the growing popularity of crypto payments in spite of the current market volatility, retailers that are innovative and forward thinking enough to be among the first to accept crypto could gain competitive advantage, increased brand awareness and market share.
“Being one of the first retailers or brands to do this has clear advantages, but it’s critical it is done right.”
