The Alternative Payments Predicament: To Accept or Not Accept?

From cryptocurrency to buy now, pay later, consumers are all in on leveraging new ways to pay for goods and services. In fact, 46 million consumers said they’d consider using cryptocurrency for retail purchases, and buy now, pay later (BNPL) adoption is through the roof, generating $100 billion in sales as of September 2021.

But, as we’ve seen before, where consumers go, fraudsters aren’t far behind. In many ways, fraudsters’ activities act as a barometer of economic trends because they always follow the flow of money. Cue the increase in bad actors targeting alternative payment methods. So, as a merchant, what are your risks in accepting cryptocurrency or buy now, pay later?

The reality is, on the surface, there is very little risk. Cryptocurrency transactions are one-way transactions that do not carry chargeback risk. On the BNPL side of things, because the installment provider pays the merchant, consumers cannot initiate chargebacks with the merchant. So, accepting alternative payments like crypto and BNPL is a no-brainer for merchants, right? Not exactly.