BitPay Review – Still Building the Future?

Launched back in 2011, BitPay is a payment solution provider, that aimed to revolutionize the financial industry by creating a bridge between the classic facets of the payments vertical and the fast-emerging cryptocurrency-based side. Long story short, BitPay have always been about marrying off the advantages of cryptocurrencies with fiat-based payments. For a while there, this approach did indeed look great. The rising transfer costs and mining fees have since somewhat tarnished this outlook though. It is safe to say that these days, the solutions offered by BitPay do not make much sense in regards to small- and micro transactions. The fees involved are rather ridiculous most of the time, and perhaps the worst thing about it all is that there is nothing BitPay can do about it.

What exactly does BitPay offer though, and how does it all work?

From the perspective of a rank-and-file user, BitPay can be best defined as a really fancy Bitcoin wallet, which lets users load a fiat VISA-card, directly from their crypto wallet. Through 3rd party exchanges, BitPay also lets its users buy and sell Bitcoin. While the option of having one’s cryptos converted into fiat at a whim, and spending the money wherever VISA cards are accepted, sounds good, the issue of fees all but ruins the setup for smaller transactions. Indeed, in some cases, one may end up paying more in transaction fees than the amount of transferred funds.

As far as the BitPay wallet service is concerned, it has to be granted that it is a great service indeed. It comes equipped with a number of impressive safety features, and it can be linked up with the above mentioned VISA debit card, as well as with a 3rd party exchange, like Coinbase. The wallet app is available for free, for a variety of platforms and besides its outstanding safety features and the above named perks, it can scan QR codes for payments and it can verify wallet addresses to which user funds are sent.

The BitPay card has to be ordered and activated, before it can be loaded. Ordering is done online and a fee is involved. The user ordering the card has to undergo ID verification as well, before the card is sent. Some users have complained that despite going through the above steps as required, they never received their BitPay cards.

After its arrival, the card has to be activated at the bitpay.com website, and a cardholder account can then be created. The card is for fiat dollars. It can be loaded through the BitPay wallet – as said above – but direct deposits can be used with it as well. The last step is to spend the money directly off the card, or to use an ATM to withdraw cash.

It is important for users to remember that once they load funds onto their BitPay VISA card, the balance will remain in USD. Receiving bitcoins through the wallet is as simple as giving someone your wallet address (available under Receive). The sender then simply sends bitcoins to the said address. Remember that every time someone sends you bitcoins (even when you transfer BTC from a different wallet of yours to your BitPay wallet) transfer fees will be incurred. These fees have gotten out of control lately, so if you use micro transactions, you may indeed end up paying more in fees than the amount you’ll receive.

With your debit card linked, you can link up your exchange as well, just to open up the possibility to buy/sell BTC too. You need to have an account with the exchange (Coinbase), to be able to link it up with BitPay. When linking up the wallet, your Coinbase account will have to approve a series of permissions. Once you’re done linking your exchange account, you’ll be presented with the current Bitcoin buy/sell prices. If you make a purchase, theoretically, it’ll be done directly through your BitPay wallet, so the cryptos you buy will land directly in your wallet. The reason we’re saying “theoretically” is that apparently sometimes, this feature misfires, and the purchased bitcoins land in the Coinbase account instead. This is significant, because this way, one will incur yet another set of transfer fees upon passing on the funds to the BitPay wallet manually.

The loading of the VISA card comes with some fees as well. In at least one instance, a user spent nearly $2 to load $5 onto the card. With larger sums, these fees may become more reasonable as well.

Setting up the sale of BTC through the BitPay wallet is a simple affair as well. Once again, the punitive transaction fees come into play, so make sure you factor those in.

Another attractive solution that BitPay peddles is aimed at businesses. In a nutshell: BitPay allows businesses to accept Bitcoin, saving them money, ending charge-backs and eliminating fraud. By accepting Bitcoin, online businesses are indeed free to sell to anyone, anywhere. BitPay’s solution integrates seamlessly with scores of online platforms such as WordPress, Magento and scores of others.

The Bitcoin payment process comes with a locked-in exchange rate, and the BTC is instantly converted, shielding the seller from the volatility associated with the cryptocurrency. Payments land as direct deposits in merchants’ bank accounts.

Should I Trust BitPay?

Yes. Legitimacy is not a question with this operator. Whether or not the service makes financial sense, is a different question. The About Us page of the operation features a full company profile, with pictures of the Executive Team, of the Board of Directors and of the advisors involved.

Question Marks and Red Flags

There are no actual red flags to talk about in regards to BitPay: as said, the operation is 100% legit. The only question marks arise from the feasibility of the service when it comes to micro- and small transactions.

Complaints

Complaints concerning BitPay’s various operational aspects abound at bitcointalk.org as well as at reddit. Some people claim that they simply cannot get approved for a BitPay card. Others find various glitches with the services offered by BitPay. The bottom line is that everyone should determine the utility of BitPay’s services based on his/her individual needs. No one will call the operation a fraud, though to some, using the card is simply not worth it.

BitPay Review Conclusion

BitPay offers a legitimate payment service, which is certainly very useful for some. Due to escalating Bitcoin transaction/miner fees though, the service has been rendered useless for a rather large segment of the potential user-base. As stated at the beginning of this BitPay review, that is not something BitPay can do anything about…

Official Site: BitPay.com

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