Have you ever visited an e-commerce store and wanted to pay in Bitcoin? Well, if you have you would not be the only one. Bitcoin payments on online stores are becoming increasingly popular and the number of places that accept bitcoin payments is increasing every day. As an online store owner, if you want to integrate bitcoin payments there are many services that are available to make this possible.
One such service is called Blockonomics which we will be reviewing in this article. We will have a look at the services and features offered by Blockonomics and how it helps online merchants accept bitcoin.
Blockonomics Product and Services
Blockonomics is a bitcoin payment service that lets you accept and track bitcoin payments. It offers two main services to its users:
- Accepting Bitcoin Payments
- Tracking Bitcoin Payments
Accepting Bitcoin Payments
Payment Gateways
A bitcoin payment gateway allows online merchants to accept bitcoin payments on their website. Bitcoin Payment gateways are available in the form of plugins for a variety of online stores, namely:
- WooCommerce (WordPress)
- WHMCS
- PrestaShop
- Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)
- Magento
- OpenCart
- Joomla/VirtueMart
- Payment API (can be used on a custom web-shop)
Payment Links/Button
Payment Links are URL’s users can share easily with anyone online to receive payments.
It is one of the easiest forms of payment gateway that anyone can use, its biggest benefit being its shareability.
Peer-2-Peer (P2P) Invoice
P2P invoice allows users to send bitcoin invoices to their clients and receive payments to their bitcoin wallet.
- Dynamic Price Updates
- Ensures that the proper amount is sent
- Anonymous
- Safe and Secure
Tracking Bitcoin Payments
Block Explorer:
Using this feature, users can track their bitcoin transactions on the blockchain. All you need is a bitcoin address or a transaction ID.
Wallet Watcher
Wallet Watcher offers a host of services to its users, some of the main ones include:
- Address Watcher: Allows users to track their bitcoin wallet(s) from a single screen. If you have multiple wallets and want to see what’s happening in all of them, this is the product for you.
- TxFee Score: Scores your bitcoin wallet based on how well optimized it is.
- Upgrade: Allows merchants to deposit credit balances for their payment gateway.
- Referrals: Users can use this to create referral links to earn affiliate commissions.
BTC Transaction Notification Email
This feature allows users to track their bitcoin transactions for a particular wallet (xPub key) and receive email updates for any and all transactions made on that wallet. A user simply has to add their xPub key for the wallet they want to track and they will start receiving email updates for any future transactions made on that wallet.
Blockonomics Pros and Cons
PROs
Blockonomics biggest pro is a payment processor that does not take control of your funds at any time of the transaction, plus, their users do not have to divulge any personal information to use the service as there is no KYC/AML involved.
Contrary to the common belief of bitcoin and related products being technical and difficult to use, Blockonomics is extremely easy to use and requires no high level technical knowledge whatsoever. Most of the integration is offered in the form of plugins which can be plugged into your website in a matter of minutes.
In addition, there are tons of support articles/videos available which can help you with the setup in case you run into any trouble. Not to mention the 24X7 support team that is available to help you in any way possible.
CONs
Blockonomics falls short when it comes to altcoin support, while most competitors offer multiple altcoin support,
Blockonomics only supports Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum, that too for limited plugins.
Its additional services such as payment links or buttons are rather basic and do not offer any additional functionalities.
Blockonomics Salient Features
- No Middleman: All the payments made are directly sent to the wallet of your choice.
- No KYC/AML: Unlike most payment gateways, Blockonomics does not require its users to submit identity documents thus safeguarding their privacy.
- Installation takes 2 minutes: The whole process to install the plugin is very simple and straightforward.
- Complete checkout happens on the same website: Majority of payment plugins redirect the users to an external page to complete the checkout process. With Blockonomics the whole process takes place on your website adding an additional layer of security.
- Altcoin Support: In addition to Bitcoin, the plugin supports the option to pay with Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ethereum (ETH).
- All major bitcoin wallets supported: The plugin supports all major soft and hard bitcoin wallets including, Ledger, Trezor, MyCelium, Exodus, blockchain, etc.
- Supports bitcoin-to-fiat conversion: This is a rare feature that most plugins do not yet offer. Through their Fiat Conversion integration you can easily convert your bitcoin into any fiat currency thus saving yourself from the infamous price fluctuations.
- Segwit compatible
- Secure and safeguarded transactions
Pricing
Blockonomics has a mix of Free and Paid services. Some of its Free services include:
- Bitcoin p2p Invoice
- Block Explorer
- Wallet Watcher
- BTC Transaction Notification Email
Its paid plan includes the plugins and the payment button/links, the pricing for which is as follows:
Blockonomics offers the first 10 transactions free, after which there is a fee of 1% per transaction. Since Blockonomics does not hold your funds at any time, you have to make sure you make this payment by adding a credit balance to your account, so do make sure your account has enough balance to cover your due amount.
In case, your account falls low on the credit balance, your service is never interrupted or blocked instead Blockonomics offers you a 30 day grace period to reload your account and fulfill the payment.
Support
e plugin offers 24X7 support across various channels including, Reddit, Support Tickets, and online chat. Plus, there are tons of support articles and videos that are published regularly to help customers.
The response is quick and you will have someone to answer your questions promptly.
Blockonomics Comparison to Other Products
Most companies that offer bitcoin payments hold your bitcoin funds which gives them the power to freeze, delay or block your transactions. In terms of integration, many competitors require users to input a code into their website which is statistically prone to more errors and can even make the website unstable if not done right.
With Blockonomics, the integration happens in the form of plugins that are available for all major online shop builders including WooCommerce, OpenCart, PrestaShop, to name a few. Plus they even offer support for website builder Wix and Squarespace which no other product in the market is currently offering. nomics, fiat conversion feature allows users to convert bitcoin into fiat, a service that no other competitor is currently offering.
Conclusion
Blockonomics offers a lot of services and features for anyone looking to use bitcoin as a form of payment. All the services are extremely user friendly and take little to no time in setup making it a great choice for both technical and non-technical user base. However, there are a few places where Blockonomics fall short:
- There is limited Altcoin support
- Some of the products such as payment links/buttons are rather basic and do not provide much customization options.
Despite that, Blockonomics is a great choice for anyone looking to accept bitcoin payments on their website without a middleman. Let us know what you think about Blockonomics by reviewing it below.
