As money continues to become more digital, cryptocurrency payments have become huge buzz words. We recently took a look at what cryptocurrency is and how it works, and now we?re here to discuss how it differs from traditional payment forms including cash and credit and debit cards.

What Is Cryptocurrency?

Before we get into the benefits of cryptocurrency over traditional money, lets quickly review what it is. Cryptocurrency, also called digital currency, is a digital coin you can send online. Digital currency represents value that is not issued by a central bank or government, but is accepted by people and merchants as a means of payment for goods or services.

There are currently more than 900 cryptocurrencies available over the internet, and new cryptocurrency can be created any time.? Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, and Litecoin are some of today?s bigger players that you may have heard of.

Cryptocurrency vs. Traditional Money

What are the differences between cryptocurrency and traditional money? Let?s take a look at the many benefits of digital currency.

• Digital currency affords users complete anonymity. Every time you swipe your credit or debit card, your personal information is attached, and businesses, banks and governments can use this data to track your activities. Cryptocurrency transactions carry no personal information (unless you add it yourself). This privacy also dramatically decreases the chances of identity theft.
• Constant access to your accounts. Traditional accounts can be garnished or frozen, but since digital currency exists outside the regulations and laws that allow this to happen, it’s very rare to be unable to access your coins.
• No fraud! Individual cryptocurrencies are digital and cannot be counterfeited or reversed arbitrarily by the sender, as with credit card charge-backs
• Lower fees. Traditional banks charge fees to process transactions. With digital currency being exchanged over the internet, there are usually little or no transaction fees.
• Access to everyone. There are around 2.2 billion people with access to the Internet or smartphones who don?t have access to a traditional exchange. For these people, the cryptocurrency is perfect. With this said, one in three Kenyans now own a bitcoin wallet, which is huge!

Aliant: Now Offering Cryptocurrency Payment Processing

Here at Aliant, we strive to provide the latest payments technology to help merchants run their businesses effectively. We?re proud to be one of the first payment processors to offer merchants the ability to accept payments in Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin. To get started, call us at?888.638.6103.