Payments in E-Commerce and Blockchain
Since its introduction, blockchain has been enjoying a good run in the financial industry, with the global blockchain market surging to more than 400% this year.
As blockchain inches ever closer to the real sectors of the economy, more and more people have now started talking about other potential spaces for blockchain other than finance – particularly in the most profitable business model of them all, e-commerce.
Curate is a blockchain project which offers an all-in-one shopping experience with the key objective of ensuring that everyone who buys & sells on the marketplace, is rewarded for their time.
While blockchain has already made a significant impression on trading, supply chain management & financial services, Curate is working to ensure that this technology contributes to the burgeoning sphere of e-commerce.
Need for Blockchain in e-commerce
While the inclusion of Blockchain in a person’s daily routine is fast becoming the new normal, the application of Blockchain in the e-commerce sector is one of the hot trends to watch out for.
Below are a few ways that blockchain is rapidly transforming e-commerce.
- Optimisation of Payment Methods
Gone are the days when blockchain was solely known for cryptocurrencies. Today, blockchain has emerged as one of the most revolutionary applications and shows potential to transform almost every sector.
Some of the key features/advantages of blockchain over traditional banking include:
- Decentralisation – blockchain is not regulated by any central authority, which essentially means that the buyer and seller only control blockchain operations.
- Transactional Freedom – blockchain-based currencies give users total freedom to perform transactions without any lid on the spending limit.
- Identity Protection – while these transactions are completely transparent
It is no secret that e-commerce has become the new normal but it has failed to live up to the expectations, not in terms of convenience but in terms of authenticity, privacy, and transparency. Therefore, to accommodate the needs of modern users, the traditional e-commerce system needs to evolve with the inclusion of the latest technologies.
For a buyer, the shortcomings of an e-commerce platform are something they can live with but for a seller, the e-commerce platform has become a necessary evil.
Sellers today have to embrace e-commerce because of the global market but they face numerous challenges. For instance, fake ratings have made it extremely difficult for genuine products to get the exposure they deserve. Another example is the absence of sufficient data security. This is the reason why the client-base of a particular seller is available to the competitors.
However, the shortcomings of the payment system in e-commerce make it the most prominent reason for introducing Blockchain.
The need for a Blockchain-based payment system in e-commerce increases exponentially for a business owner or a seller. Even if a single payment is delayed due to the unavailability of a bank, the whole business is jeopardized. Moreover, the unreasonable transaction costs charged by central authorities are the reason why many small businesses are unable to make substantial profits and grow to their potential.
Benefits of Blockchain-based payments in e-commerce
Following are a few benefits of having a Blockchain-based payment system in e-commerce.
- The immutability and the decentralization of blockchain prevent the alteration of the data and eliminate the risk of fraudulent transactions occurring on the e-commerce platform.
- Smart contracts on blockchain help to maintain a status quo as the agreement between the seller and the buyer happens in accordance with the pre-written rules of the smart contract.
- Payments on Blockchain can be completed in a few mins as they are directly between the buyer and the seller.
- Even if the payments are cross-border, the transaction fee charged in a Blockchain-based ecosystem is significantly less than the traditional fees.
- Foreign exchange rates are not applicable as the payments done on a Blockchain application are completed using cryptocurrencies.
- The availability of crypto wallets eradicates the need for setting up international payments which allow the sellers to tap into the huge potential market.
- Due to the absence of high fees, fx rates, and other such charges, sellers get the liberty to charge reasonably to the customer, creating a strong relationship.
In a nutshell, the inclusion of Blockchain in the e-commerce sector creates a frictionless payment network.
Conclusion
While the need for Blockchain-based payment is cloudless, finding such an ecosystem is not that easy. Fortunately, there are some e-commerce platforms already in the market that are making Blockchain accessible to this world.
One such platform is Curate. Being a Blockchain-based marketplace, Curate is powered by an immutable, decentralized database that eradicates the possibility of fraud. With peer-to-peer interactions, Curate is a faster, efficient, and reliable marketplace.
The availability of smart contracts on Curate allows it to be a global solution as the need for localized third parties is eradicated.
In addition to this, there are multiple payment options available on Curate that the sellers can leverage. The native token of Curate, built on the Ethereum standards, also facilitates the payments inside the Curate marketplace and provides frictionless financial interactions.
Curate’s XCUR token is a utility token for the decentralized ecosystem of Curate. The token is not just a payment leg but also gives an investment opportunity to the people who own it. Even if the payments are completed using an alternative method, the Blockchain-based marketplace provides a highly transparent and unbiased network.
The availability of decentralized marketplaces such as Curate is the reason why the e-commerce sector is on the verge of a revolution, not just in theory but in practice.
