Payment company uses blockchain to empower merchants globally to use cryptocurrencies.

Description

Whalestack (ex COINQVEST) is a major player in the payment industry and specializes in cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. They help companies manage their crypto payments while complying with regulations. In order to facilitate this process, the company decided to create an all-in-one platform where merchants can easily accept fiat and crypto payments as well as aiding traditional financial companies and fintech to easily get started with payments in cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.

To create such a platform, Whalestack (ex COINQVEST) decided to partner with Layer 1 blockchain Stellar. According to COINQVEST Co-founder, “Low fees, the transaction speed, and the ability to interoperate were the main reasons why the Stellar network was our top choice.” 

Whalestack (ex COINQVEST) aims to become the go-to payment solution for merchants. To do so, the company keeps adding new features to its platform. Lastly, they added data analytics and tax-keeping data, as regulatory compliance is a must for companies.

Challenges in Traditional Payment Systems

Traditional payment systems are characterized by high fees and slow settlement time. They also often struggle to adapt to technological changes. Cryptocurrencies offer an alternative to traditional payments with lower fees and faster transactions. Implementing crypto in their payment processes can be complicated due to regulation as it varies from country to country. Ability to implement cryptos in their processes also poses a challenge to FinTech companies, banks and other financial actors. In a survey led by Bitpay and PYMNTS, it is revealed that of the merchants who do not accept crypto, 68% answered that the lack of technological knowledge required to integrate and manage crypto payments is the reason why they haven’t accepted crypto. This shows that part of the merchants who do not use crypto are not fundamentally against crypto, but rather don’t have the capabilities to integrate them into their existing processes. Whalestack (ex COINQVEST) addresses these issues by offering a blockchain-based solution that allows for easy use of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, drastically reduces fees, accelerates transaction speed, and supports a wide range of currencies. This enables businesses to operate more competitively in the global market.

What are the benefits merchants gain by using cryptos for processing payments ?

According to Cointelegraph, 85% of merchant see cryptos payments a way to reach new customers. A lot of merchants are starting to accept crypto as a means of payments, and 82% of the surveyed merchants acknowledge that the elimination of middlmen was one of the main reasons to start using crypto. No middlemen means less parties involved in the transactional process, and therefore there is no need for each party to take a part of the fees as a remuneration. This results in fees for processign crypto transactions to be around 1%, while usual fees range from 1.5% to 3.5%.

However, if we take a broader perspective, a survey by Crypto.com reveals that only 4% of merchants worldwide accept cryptos. Although crypto is relatively new, 4% remains quite a small number. Yet, if we look at the customer’s side, that same study tells us that 40% of customers already used digital assets to buy good and services. This is very positive as demand drives adoption and forces companies to adapt. We can expect cryptos to gain more and more shares in the payment industries as companies like Whalestack keep innovating and providing merchants with all-in-one payment solutions, thereby driving the adoption of cryptocurrencies for transactional purposes.

Benefits & Outcomes
  • Foster use of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins for global payments
  • Help entreprise comply easily with regulation
  • Provide low-fees and high-speed transactions
  • Many different features that fit the needs of merchants, fintech and banks: crypto checkout, deposit, swaps etc..
  • Emphasis on security with secure custodial wallets
  • The use of the Stellar network allows for interoperability with various currencies
Links
Further Info

Key features of the platform include:

  • Possibility to accept payments in both fiat and crypto
  • Crypto and stablecoins payment methods
  • Crypto checkouts
  • Swaps
  • Deposits
  • Data anlaytics
  • Tax-keeping data for compliance
  • Automated invoicing and financial reporting, balance sheet tracking and account statements.

According to Whalestack co-founder: “Merchants are interested in adopting new digital currencies, but it can seem overwhelming at first. When they experience how COINQVEST removes the complexities of integrating with multiple blockchains and provides settlement in their desired currencies, their sentiment turns positive quickly.”

Status

Project is live. Research by Alexandre on November 2023.

© Antony Welfare 2024

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