How to accept crypto payments as a business: setup, compliance and accounting

Should your business accept crypto payments?

Crypto is worth adding when a meaningful share of your customers already hold it or when other methods fail them. Typical cases are digital goods, hosting and SaaS sold worldwide, travel, gaming, and B2B invoices to counterparties in markets with slow or expensive bank transfers. For a domestic shop selling to card-holding consumers, crypto usually stays a niche method.

Before signing up, work through a short checklist. If most answers are yes, a pilot with one gateway and settlement in euros is a low-risk way to measure demand.

• Customers ask for crypto, or competitors in your vertical already offer it
• You sell across borders where cards decline often or bank transfers take days
• Your average order is large enough that a 1% fee beats card costs plus chargeback risk
• Your product and markets are accepted by at least one MiCA-authorised gateway
• Your accountant can book payments received in crypto or converted by a third party
• Your terms of service cover refunds in crypto and the absence of chargebacks

What do you need before you start?

Gateways treat merchants like any regulated payment provider would. Expect a KYB review covering company documents, ownership, website and business model before you can go live. Preparing the documents in advance shortens onboarding from weeks to days.

Which integration option fits your checkout?

Gateways offer the same payment engine through several front doors. Start with the one that matches your platform and team; you can move to a deeper integration later without changing the gateway account.

Whatever option you choose, make the network visible at checkout. The most common support case is a customer sending USDC on one network to an address expecting another.

Stablecoins or Bitcoin: what should you accept?

For most merchants stablecoins are the practical default. USDC and EURC are MiCA-compliant and track the dollar and the euro, so the amount the customer sends is close to the amount you book. USDT remains popular worldwide but is not authorised under MiCA, and EU-authorised gateways have withdrawn it for EU clients.

Bitcoin and Ether still matter for customers who hold them, but their price moves within minutes. Use the gateway's rate lock and automatic conversion so the invoice value in euros is fixed and the gateway carries the market risk. Keep coins on balance only if holding crypto is a deliberate treasury decision.

How do refunds work without chargebacks?

A crypto payment cannot be reversed by the payer, so friendly fraud through chargebacks disappears. Disputes become a matter between you and the customer, settled under your refund policy. Write down whether refunds are paid in the original coin at the original amount, or in the euro value of the order at the time of refund.

Technically a refund is a new outbound transfer. The customer must give you a receiving address, because the address that paid may belong to an exchange. Most gateways offer refunds from the dashboard or by API for a small fee plus the network fee, and screen the receiving address like any outgoing transfer.

How are crypto payments taxed and booked?

In the EU, a payment in crypto does not change the VAT on what you sell: VAT is due on the goods or services at their value in the local currency. The Court of Justice held in Hedqvist (C-264/14) that exchanging Bitcoin for traditional currency is a VAT-exempt financial service, which is why crypto is generally treated as a means of payment rather than a barter.

Booking depends on settlement. If the gateway converts to euros, record revenue at the invoice value and the gateway fee as a payment cost. If you keep crypto, you hold an asset whose value changes, with gains and losses to report under your national rules. Since 1 January 2026 the DAC8 directive requires CASPs to report customer transactions to tax authorities. Treat this section as orientation and confirm the treatment with your accountant.

What compliance checks will the gateway run?

Since the MiCA transitional period ended on 1 July 2026, a gateway serving EU merchants must appear in the ESMA interim register of authorised CASPs; 379 firms were listed on 15 October 2026. Check the register before you sign, because an unauthorised provider may have to wind down and move your balance.

The gateway also applies the Travel Rule under Regulation (EU) 2023/1113, screens incoming wallets for sanctions and illicit sources, and may hold a payment for review. Build your order flow so that a pending or held payment does not release goods automatically.

How to accept crypto payments through OrsunPay

OrsunPay connects your own accounts at crypto gateways to the checkout, payment links and webhooks you already use for cards and bank payments. The gateway remains your contractual partner for custody, conversion and compliance; OrsunPay never holds the funds and only routes payments and normalises their statuses across providers.

How to accept crypto payments as a business

1. Choose a gateway Shortlist gateways listed in the ESMA interim MiCA register that support your coins, networks, settlement currency and business vertical, and compare fees including payouts and conversions.
2. Complete KYB Submit company documents, beneficial owners, website and bank details; regulated verticals also provide their licence.
3. Configure settlement Decide per coin whether to convert to EUR, GBP or USD automatically or to keep crypto, and set payout frequency and bank account.
4. Add crypto to checkout Use a payment link, hosted invoice, plugin or API, and show the network clearly next to each coin.
5. Test end to end Run payments on a testnet or sandbox, including underpayment, overpayment, expiry and refund, and verify webhook signatures.
6. Reconcile and monitor Match each settled payment to its order and payout, book fees separately, and review held or underpaid invoices daily.