Officially accepting bitcoins as of now... or f##k you, Skrill
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Unfortunately there's a catch — exchange between "fiat" currencies (dollars, euros, bahts), and BTC isn't as smooth as one could hope for. Your flexible friend, the credit card, will not be accepted, because bitcoin deals are irreversible, while credit card transactions are very much so:
Buy bitcoins => pay with card => tell your bank that the card was stolen => ... => Profit!!!
Paypal? It's even worse. While credit card companies are mislead by scammers, Paypal deliberately, and knowingly supports them, and their business to undermine competitor's positions, Google will give you all the nasty details.
So we ruled out two most popular online payment methods. Unfortunately others are either not perfect, or not usable.
Don't get me wrong, you can exchange bitcoins, perhaps even easily, but it will require you to jump through a circle or two — accept the fact that your favorite tools will not work here, find, and implement alternatives. Most people are either too lazy or too busy for that, and prefer old ways. Guys who run companies are also busy, lazy, and reluctant to do new things, plus they face legal, organizational, and devil knows what other barriers. Bottom line — I can't imagine wide acceptance of bitcoins in our industry any time soon. This makes my "accepting bitcoins" announcement a little more than a hogwash. Or not.
Everyone knows about Skrill, arguably the only efficient way to handle ongoing (and annoying) pecky projects that bring 0-250 EU per month. "Industry standard" SWIFT is not an option (obviously), Paypal, and SEPA have regional limitations, and can be expensive, and other solutions are simply not worth mentioning. Skrill on the other hand is ubiquitous, and fees make it perfect fit for both customers, and vendors: flat 0.5 EU to send money, and flat 1.8 EU to withdraw. Jolly good. There is a downside, of course, Skrill can randomly and permanently freeze your account with all the cash for no specific reason, but it is an acceptable risk, as long as your turnover is moderate...
Was acceptable, not anymore, last November flat rates were replaced with percentages, making Skrill more expensive than SEPA, but slightly cheaper than Paypal. And they can still take all your money. Reasons are not important, but I assume that they have decided to pose as "payment gateway", and p2p transfers were sacrificed. Anyway Skrill no longer an option, but there's and alternative. Any assumptions?
Yep, bitcoins could be a perfect solution of micropayment problem, and many others, but first we need to let our customers know that they exist. How? Start accepting bitcoins, and make sure everybody knows J
And one more thing, if you have taken my pitch seriously, and made all the pre-arrangements, such as installing, and syncing the wallet, then you are probably choosing between one of three major BTC exchanges to settle in. You have probably accepted the fact that they will demand your passport, proof of address, and some other random proofs, and report all your transactions to big brother and/or your government. If you think that this approach is killing the buzz, do yourself a favor, and click little ugly banner below. Yes, bitcoins must be anonymous, which means they must be bought with cash.
