Crypto Payments, Educational, Getting Started

Accept Ethereum (ETH) Payments 

Last updated: May 1, 2023 6 min read

Vilius Barbaravičius

Ethereum has remained the most prominent decentralized open-source blockchain system after Bitcoin for years. 

accept ethereum payments

As a result, its cryptocurrency Ether (ETH) found its way into many people’s portfolios, whether it’s for investment reasons or with intent to participate in decentralized finance (DeFi), use dApps, tokenize assets, and perform financial transactions. 

The latter use case has been prevalent amongst ETH owners as, by now, thousands of companies are keen to accept Ethereum payments for goods and services as much as its holders are willing to spend it. 

What kind of companies tend to accept Ethereum? 

Some types of businesses benefit from Ethereum payments more often than others. Here are the places where you are usually allowed to spend Ether:

  • Gift cards. The best way to buy anything in the world using Ethereum is by spending it on gift cards. In fact, thousands of gift cards are available to buy with crypto from places that don’t directly accept it, like Amazon, Steam, Airbnb, and similar
  • Digital services. It’s rare if a web hosting, VPN, VPS or proxy rental service does not accept cryptocurrency payments. If they do, Ether is undoubtedly amongst the options. 
  • E-commerce. There is no shortage of online stores that sell consumer goods and allow paying with Ethereum. From electronics and furniture to clothing and cosmetics, it’s hard to find an item that cannot be paid for with ETH.
  • Travel. The travel industry is known for its good relationship with cryptocurrencies. It’s almost no challenge to rent a car, book a hotel, or get a flight ticket and pay with Ether.
  • Gaming. Esports and gambling ventures were the early cryptocurrency adopters. Ether is usually a viable payment option whenever you come across one of them. 
  • Adult. This particular industry is also no stranger to accepting cryptocurrency payments as it’s known to have issues with traditional payment providers. As one of the most popular coins, Ether is usually a welcomed currency here.

If you’re part of these industries, accepting ETH payments makes a lot of sense as there is a high and continually rising demand for this payment option. 

However, that does not mean Ethereum payments are not viable if you belong to another industry. Quite the opposite – by adopting ETH payments, you might be the first mover in your industry and thus gain a competitive advantage over your competitors.

There are several ways to start accepting Ethereum, and it’s easier than most people realize. 

How to start accepting Ethereum on your site

Accepting Ethereum payments is simple. All you need is an Ethereum wallet address that you can create for free and in an instant. However, for most businesses, throwing out a wallet address to the payee is not enough. 

To make the most out of ETH payments, it is necessary to have the additional infrastructure, such as a checkout flow, refund procedures, accounting tools, and similar. 

Instead of developing sophisticated payment rails by themselves, companies often employ 3rd party services to automate the whole crypto payment collection process. And that’s where specialized payment gateways step in. 

To learn more, we have a detailed blog on how to accept ethereum or other cryptocurrencies on your website.

What is the Ethereum payment gateway? 

One way to accept Ethereum payments is to use the Ethereum payment gateway.

Payment gateways are specialized companies that provide all the necessary tools to accept Ether and other cryptocurrencies for payments conveniently. 

In addition, gateways like CoinGate will provide numerous additional benefits, such as 24/7 support, various integration methods, an on-the-spot currency conversion to local fiat currencies, and so on. Learn more.

Accept Ethereum payments with e-commerce plugins 

If you run an e-commerce website using one of the popular e-commerce platforms, a plugin for Ethereum payments might be the best option. 

Quick and easy to set up, CoinGate plugins for Prestashop, WHMCS, WooCommerce (WordPress), and others will allow your customers to pay in ETH and +70 other cryptocurrencies. 

Send bills to pay with Ethereum 

CoinGate billing is an invoicing solution that allows companies to issue bills and collect cryptocurrency payments from customers or business partners. 

These bills can be sent via direct link or CoinGate’s email service in the form of one-time or multiple predefined recurring invoices (subscriptions).

Creating and sending a bill is a matter of minutes. All it takes is adding your product or service, setting its price, adding some information about a payee, and sending the bill. In addition, a company can attach a schedule to the bill and send them out automatically in predetermined timeframes. 

The bill then redirects a payee to a CoinGate invoice with +70 cryptocurrencies listed as payment options. 

Ethereum API for payment processing 

Integrating Ethereum payments via CoinGate API is another option tailored for companies that seek a highly customizable solution. To put the API to work, you’ll need to implement its code on a website, which might be a bit too challenging for a casual customer. 

With that in mind, CoinGate offers other payment integration methods, like payment buttons or a PoS application, that are simple and require no technical knowledge to implement. 

Advantages of accepting Ethereum payments

Accepting Ethereum payments by itself is a significant advantage to have over other businesses in the same industry. However, receiving ETH through the CoinGate payment gateway provides even more advantages.

  • Receive payments instantly from anywhere in the world;
  • Remove multiple unnecessary middle-men;
  • Automate crypto processing and invoicing;
  • Issue whole or partial refunds;
  • Collect and share fewer data about your customers;
  • Convert funds to fiat with real-time exchange rates;
  • Forget fraudulent chargebacks and credit card scams;
  • Use a dedicated dashboard for order tracking, management, and accounting;
  • Get the attention of more customers and boost sales;
  • Gain a competitive advantage in your respective industry;
  • Enjoy only 1% transaction fees.

What are you waiting for? Register an account with CoinGate and start accepting payments in ETH as soon as you’re ready.

FAQ about Ethereum

Is there a fee when paying with Ethereum?

A payee has to pay a miner’s fee. The merchant is charged a 1% fee for payment processing.

Is it legal to accept Ethereum payments?

It depends on your jurisdiction. Please check with your local government’s laws. 

What sort of wallet do I need to pay for purchases with ETH? 

You’ll need any wallet that supports Ether. Learn more about the types of wallets

What can I buy with Ethereum? 

Ethereum can be used to buy almost anything you think of. Check the merchant directory to find online stores that accept ETH, or visit a gift card store to purchase branded gift cards with ETH. 

Where can I buy Ethereum?

You can purchase Ethereum with a bank account through CoinGate, or by using your credit or debit card through Simplex services. You can also buy ETH on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges.

Written by:

Vilius Barbaravičius

Vilius is a seasoned copywriter and bitcoin enthusiast specializing in blockchain and cryptocurrency topics. He's been with CoinGate since 2018, writing blogs, social media content, sales materials, newsletters, FAQs, and more. He's relentless in pursuing knowledge and a better understanding of the crypto industry, which helps him create meaningful and engaging content every day.