Bitcoin payment processors have been fighting hard for merchant adoption. Igot, the world's fastest growing Bitcoin exchange, is making a major move into that battlefield. The company is launching mer
Bitcoin payment processors have been fighting hard for merchant adoption. Igot, the world's fastest growing Bitcoin exchange, is making a major move into that battlefield. The company is launching merchant services in nearly 40 countries, a play that puts it ahead of established competitors like Coinbase (24 countries) and BitPay.
The competition matters. More payment processors means lower fees. Igot's platform will charge merchants 0.5 percent per transaction. Credit cards cost 3 to 5 percent. For retailers moving volume, that difference adds up fast.
Igot can handle both online and in-store transactions, converting Bitcoin to local currency on the spot. The service rolls out to places like India, Kenya, Malta, and the United Arab Emirates, giving merchants in those regions access to borderless payments for the first time.
Rick Day, Igot's co-founder, laid out the pitch: "Accepting Bitcoin through igot has multiple advantages for merchants. Integration takes just minutes, and it protects businesses from both credit-card chargebacks and price volatility. Perhaps most importantly, Bitcoin is a free marketing tool that is likely to increase overall revenue. This is a win-win situation for merchants and the Bitcoin community. With a flat 0.5 percent transaction fee, we expect to get a lot of traction."
Those advantages cut across all merchant types. Businesses avoid chargebacks since Bitcoin transactions are final. They dodge price volatility through Igot's real-time conversion to fiat. They also skip the marketing costs of announcing they take Bitcoin, which itself draws customers.
Igot built the merchant platform with bank-grade two-factor authentication and multi-stage verification for all merchants and users. The company runs fraud prevention methods throughout and complies with the strictest security standards. Every account holder goes through verification stages before accessing the full set of tools.
Chargebacks become impossible through Bitcoin's design. Once a payment confirms, it cannot be reversed. That protection shapes Igot's competitive edge as much as the fee structure.
Merchants have to choose between Coinbase, BitPay, GoCoin, and now Igot. All four offer the same core function: instant conversion to fiat currency. Igot's advantage sits in its reach (40 countries at launch) and its willingness to penetrate markets others have not touched. BitPay has built out a bigger infrastructure. But Igot's expansion across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East could trigger growth that rival platforms have not seen.
