Holgrave talked about the benefits and challenges of adopting crypto for merchants and shared her thoughts on what could trigger and facilitate the mainstream adoption of crypto payments.
Holgrave said that the integration of crypto payments leads to increased security, speed and efficiency. It could replace traditional payment systems, which suffer from intermediaries, high fees, payment delays and fraud risks, she said.
Holgrave highlighted that along with the benefits, there are also challenges for businesses in terms of understanding how to account for cryptocurrency adoption, learning how to secure cryptocurrency profits, managing price volatility, and filing a tax return. Because of this, the executive explained that firms prefer to outsource their cryptocurrency payment transactions. She said:
“INCREASINGLY, MERCHANTS ARE ACCEPTING CRYPTO PAYMENTS THROUGH A THIRD PARTY THAT WILL CONVERT AND PAY FOR FIAT SO THAT THE MERCHANT DOES NOT BEAR THE RISK OF PRICE VOLATILITY RELATIVE TO THEIR COSTS.”
Beyond that, the payments executive noted that among finance employees they spoke to in one of their firm’s recent surveys, the top reason for their companies moving away from crypto is the regulatory uncertainty associated with the space.
In this regard, Holgrave mentioned that there is also a lot of misinformation in this area and that educating big players will be critical for them to use cryptocurrency as a payment method. She said:
“BY EDUCATING THESE BIG PLAYERS ABOUT THE BENEFITS AND USE CASES OF CRYPTO, WE CAN SHIFT THE NEEDLE, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO CAN MEANINGFULLY IMPLEMENT CRYPTO INTO THEIR BUSINESS.”
She also believes that in order for cryptocurrency to compete with other payment methods, a better user experience for consumers and merchants needs to be developed.
