Blockchain Network-Effect for SMEs

For SMEs, accepting payments for goods and services is key. In retail outlets, point of sale technology continues to evolve to make this process even easier. For example, I almost groan outwardly when I realise that I have veered over the £30 contactless card threshold and now have to actually physically type in my four digit pin number into the terminal rather than simply tap my card on top! (first world problems, I know!).

Add in the use of mobile phones with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay etc and it is becoming second-nature to pay digitally for pretty much everything.

Cash is fast becoming a forgotten medium of payment.

Why would I bother walking over to that cash machine and typing in my pin number, before wandering over to the counter to pay with the cash, when I can just walk right up and tap my card directly on the terminal (without even needing to type in my pin...or risk carting cash around on me...?!)

But this is just the beginning. We are currently restricted to paying using fiat money with our cards.

What about when the floodgates open and we can pay with our cards using one of the 2,000+ crypto tokens that are currently available?

This might sound like some crazy far-fetched idea but there are already cards that are starting to allow payments to made in crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. For example, cards such as Monaco and TenX are starting to roll this out. More recently UK challenger banks such as Revolut have allowed the purchase and storage of crypto-currencies - no doubt, just waiting for the opportunity for payment processors to become available that will accept crypto payments...

And this is where an solution might not be too far off.

For payment in cryptos to become accepted and trusted, it needs to be delivered by a company that already is well established as a trusted point of sale payment platform by SMEs across the world. That company might be Square.

Founded by Jack Dorsey (yes, the guy who co-founded Twitter), Square is a platform that allows SMEs of all sizes to accept card payments and.....it has secured a patent for accepting crypto currencies. Jack Dorsey has been quoted in the past as being a big fan of cryptos and saying that he believes there will soon be a single worldwide currency for the internet and that it will most likely be Bitcoin.

Now consider if/(when) SMEs can accept cryptos using their native Square point of sale technology. They would now have the capability to accept and process digital payments. The network of point of sales terminals is already in place. Nothing much as changed from a hardware perspective for the SMEs but the payment capabilities has just increased exponentially. This is where the network effect kicks in. The payment processing capability will be there via Square and the cards that facilitate crypto payment will expand quickly beyond the handful of current offerings. The tipping point to mainstream adoption would not then take long.

These are the steps by which blockchain technology will start to become integrated within the daily activities of SMEs. Just one step. But this is just the start...

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Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://businessn2k.com/blockchain-network-effect-for-smes/

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