BTCpay Server: A Real e-Commerce Game Changer?

[JollyGood]

It's definitely interesting, and I'll be staring/bookmarking this for future clients (as I have had this requested in the past).
I don't know if it's going to spell the end for services like BitPay; just simply because I know there's a huge sense of security when it comes to having a service hosted for you vs. you hosting it yourself; along with the fact a developer would most likely have to be hired to set this up.

Like others have mentioned, for the business owners who are willing to learn, it's definitely worth it.

Guys, you don't need to learn anything/pay anyone. If you don't want to bother at all, BTCPay also has Azure 1-click Deploy (Costs are about 15-20EUR per month, after fully deployed). Now tell me thats not more affordable than any provider. For 20EUR a month, no installation process (Simple click of a button) you can process as many transactions as you want with same compatibility as BitPay's API !

Sounds good to me but $20 a month for small businesses is something they might not want to pay unless they are assured of regular crypto income.

The one-click install is an excellent step forward though.

[JollyGood]

Does anybody have comments to make about their experiences using BTCPayServer?

[Baofeng]

https://twitter.com/BtcpayServer/status/1128956459377541120

So it looks like BTCPayServer supports the three leading LN implementations so far, c-Lightning, LND and now Eclair.

https://github.com/btcpayserver/BTCPayServer.Lightning

[JollyGood]

https://twitter.com/BtcpayServer/status/1128956459377541120

So it looks like BTCPayServer supports the three leading LN implementations so far, c-Lightning, LND and now Eclair.

https://github.com/btcpayserver/BTCPayServer.Lightning

It has improved and gained momentum in plenty.

I am really impressed with their work, they are very active on their channels too. Great communication, great team.

I wish them success

[JollyGood]

In the unlikely event I were to start my own business, BTCPay Server is almost certainly the route I'd go.  Better decentralisation, fewer middlemen and potential cost saving benefits as the icing on the cake.  

I think if more people only realised this was an option available to them, the payment processors would have to start considering the long-term sustainability of their business model.  Pretty much the only benefit they have left is the instant conversion to fiat.  And if fiat does become less desirable over time as the global economy worsens, they'll have no advantage remaining.

Yes it seems the best way forward for those who have some tech knowledge rather than use 3rd party plugins

It's not fair to say this. Installing and supporting a product the likes of BTCPay is non-trivial. If you are a small merchant then you most likely do not have the technical expertise to do this, after all your business is your business and not maintaining BTCPay. No doubt, folks with significant technical expertise (I am assuming you are in this category) don't have a problem handling the ins and outs of running one's own node, installing BTCPay, debugging it, customizing it et cetera, but for mom & pop running a vape store it's an entirely different ballgame.

This is not exactly true. I worked with BTCPay last week just to try it out, and you don't have to manage anything. Its designed to be a drop-in replacement for Bitpay, so any services working with Bitpay (ecommerce plugins, APIs etc) will also work with BTCPay.

Yes the truth is BTCpayserver is very easy to install and very easy to run. When you log in as an administrator you can set it up easy and then get started. You can prune the block chain so it you do not have to download the whole massive Bitcoin one.

It has lots of advantages and there is a Woocommerce plugin as well as others available.

[Nellayar]

In the unlikely event I were to start my own business, BTCPay Server is almost certainly the route I'd go.  Better decentralisation, fewer middlemen and potential cost saving benefits as the icing on the cake.  

I think if more people only realised this was an option available to them, the payment processors would have to start considering the long-term sustainability of their business model.  Pretty much the only benefit they have left is the instant conversion to fiat.  And if fiat does become less desirable over time as the global economy worsens, they'll have no advantage remaining.

Yes it seems the best way forward for those who have some tech knowledge rather than use 3rd party plugins

It's not fair to say this. Installing and supporting a product the likes of BTCPay is non-trivial. If you are a small merchant then you most likely do not have the technical expertise to do this, after all your business is your business and not maintaining BTCPay. No doubt, folks with significant technical expertise (I am assuming you are in this category) don't have a problem handling the ins and outs of running one's own node, installing BTCPay, debugging it, customizing it et cetera, but for mom & pop running a vape store it's an entirely different ballgame.

This is not exactly true. I worked with BTCPay last week just to try it out, and you don't have to manage anything. Its designed to be a drop-in replacement for Bitpay, so any services working with Bitpay (ecommerce plugins, APIs etc) will also work with BTCPay.

Yes the truth is BTCpayserver is very easy to install and very easy to run. When you log in as an administrator you can set it up easy and then get started. You can prune the block chain so it you do not have to download the whole massive Bitcoin one.

It has lots of advantages and there is a Woocommerce plugin as well as others available.

This is the first time I saw BTCpayer. Seems like I am already behind the development of this platform since the thread was made in 2018. Anyway, what is this platform all about? Is this allowed to all countries or there are countries that are banned to use this?
Another thing, what are the api? If you said that it is easy to install. I think it is efficient to use.

[OmegaStarScream]

This is the first time I saw BTCpayer. Seems like I am already behind the development of this platform since the thread was made in 2018. Anyway, what is this platform all about? Is this allowed to all countries or there are countries that are banned to use this?
Another thing, what are the api? If you said that it is easy to install. I think it is efficient to use.

Its advantage compared to other payment processors is that it's open-source and you can run your own full node and accept payments through it. Meaning, no fees, no KYC needed, no blocked countries, supports SegWit, more privacy and security, supports Tor, LN, etc.
If you're interested in deploying it, read the docs. Using a third-party solution might be the easiest way to go with if you are a newbie, but it comes with some limitations.

[JollyGood]

This is the first time I saw BTCpayer. Seems like I am already behind the development of this platform since the thread was made in 2018. Anyway, what is this platform all about? Is this allowed to all countries or there are countries that are banned to use this?
Another thing, what are the api? If you said that it is easy to install. I think it is efficient to use.

Its advantage compared to other payment processors is that it's open-source and you can run your own full node and accept payments through it. Meaning, no fees, no KYC needed, no blocked countries, supports SegWit, more privacy and security, supports Tor, LN, etc.
If you're interested in deploying it, read the docs. Using a third-party solution might be the easiest way to go with if you are a newbie, but it comes with some limitations.

Excellent post. Very well put.

The documentation guide is handy and they also have Telegram too where the team is very active and very useful: https://t.me/btcpayserver

[JollyGood]

https://launchbtcpay.lunanode.com/

There is a specific discount at Lunanode for people who want to install of BTC Pay Server

It comes with a one-click easy install solution and costs just $8.80 per month. Other cheaper solutions (hosting) can easily be found too.

[buwaytress]

I know this thread hasn't been updated in almost a year but I failed to find a discussion thread or ANN for BTCpayserver.

Been a huge fan of it for a long time, been encouraging one of my clients to go for it, and with the recent happenings surrounding it, it's really never been easier to use.

I actually missed out that it's been getting quite a bit of funding recently, its developer even's got a direct grant. Latest version now even supports refunds from escrow. It's come a long way. Bitpay's days are numbered, wouldn't you agree?

[crwth]

When I got my first website up and running, I was accepting payments using Coinpayments. I'm not entirely knowledgeable in creating your own node and using electronic wallet addressing and change addresses, etc. So I would just opt for Coinpayments. It's quite easy just because you would only put the generated button and put it on the website.

I guess in BTCpay, the setup would be a little bit hassle, but once you have made it, it's worth it. Just because of the node you are going to make to support the Bitcoin network, but the hassle of paying monthly wouldn't be ideal for startups right now.

It would be getting used to it. I'm sure it's a game-changer for different websites.

It's come a long way. Bitpay's days are numbered, wouldn't you agree?

Why is it numbered? I bet it's going to continue long and could dominate the payment processors scene.

[Gonchedies]

The problem is converting from cryptocurrencies to fiat, when a store accepts payments in cryptocurrencies they does not do it charity but to make profits, the volatility of cryptocurrencies makes it difficult to determine the profits.

If you are a store owner, I prefer to pay high fees and get profits on my bank account instead of waiting until I make some gains from cryptocurrency.
If BTCpay accepts some stable coins or exchange to them, it may make a difference.

[OmegaStarScream]

Why is it numbered? I bet it's going to continue long and could dominate the payment processors scene.

I agree that BitPay is not going to die anytime soon because as said above, most merchants wants a convenient and easy way to instantly convert BTC to USD and BitPay happens to be one of the first services to provide that. However, I don't see them dominating the payment processors scene... not with the way they're currently operating anyway (enforcing KYC for buyers, trying hard to push B-cash, implementing BIP71,  banning countries etc.).

[NotATether]

If your server is going to host other things, and I mean if it will get a lot of website traffic, then cpu and memory wise it should easily be able to handle running a full node as well, you only have to worry about finding enough hard disk drives to store the blockchain on. And servers with RAID configurations help in this regard because they combine the space a bunch of hard disks into one giant disk with only a little reserved space. I think 4TB and 8TB size configurations make your node future proof when the blockchain inevitably grows larger.

As for the plugins: Glad to hear WooCommerce has an integration with BTCpay as you can host this yourself alongside Wordpress so you get the benefit of fully hosting your store stack yourself and not being at the mercy of third parties who might for whatever reason shut down your storefront or seize your profits.

[LTU_btc]

Bitpay's days are numbered, wouldn't you agree?

I'd love if it would be true, because IMO Bitpay is worst payment service, but it's not going to happen soon I think. Bitpay is very popular and if so many people use them, probably it means that they are satisfied with it. And I think that other services like Coinpayments or Coingate isn't bad at all.
BTCpayServer is great decentralized alternative, but it's not well known. And they don't have deep pockets for marketing like their competitors.
And probably it's not for everyone. Running full node, converting Bitcoins to fiat - it's extra hassle. While most businnes prefer simplicity and convenience.

[DooMAD]

Bitpay's days are numbered, wouldn't you agree?

I'd love if it would be true, because IMO Bitpay is worst payment service, but it's not going to happen soon I think. Bitpay is very popular and if so many people use them, probably it means that they are satisfied with it. And I think that other services like Coinpayments or Coingate isn't bad at all.
BTCpayServer is great decentralized alternative, but it's not well known. And they don't have deep pockets for marketing like their competitors.
And probably it's not for everyone. Running full node, converting Bitcoins to fiat - it's extra hassle. While most businnes prefer simplicity and convenience.

I'm in a similar boat.  I sadly suspect there will always be a market for centralised services.  It largely depends on the individual.  Some people are prepared to take the initiative, learn what they need to learn and do things on their own.  Some would rather take the comfortable and convenient option of trusting someone else to handle things for them, or perhaps have other significant commitments to their time and would rather outsource anything they don't have time to grasp.  The latter types will continue to flock to Bitpay and their ilk.

Fingers crossed that Bitpay's influence will be reduced, but I'm not convinced it'll end their business model.

[JollyGood]

The latest version of btcpayserver shows exactly how far the team behind it have come as a group, well done to them. With all the assistance they received from grants especially the $150,000 from Kraken (who now use btcpayserver in their exchange) they have come a long way.

Those with websites using wordpress, woocommerce, drupal and others that can implement btcpayserver via plugins should consider giving it a try.

I know this thread hasn't been updated in almost a year but I failed to find a discussion thread or ANN for BTCpayserver.

Been a huge fan of it for a long time, been encouraging one of my clients to go for it, and with the recent happenings surrounding it, it's really never been easier to use.

I actually missed out that it's been getting quite a bit of funding recently, its developer even's got a direct grant. Latest version now even supports refunds from escrow. It's come a long way. Bitpay's days are numbered, wouldn't you agree?

[buwaytress]

@crwth, LTU_btc It's true that it will likely dominate for a long time to come, but when it actually has good competitors who now have funding, like btcpay does, it will be forced to innovate to remain competitive. So if it chooses to do so, then it's still a win.

The latest version of btcpayserver shows exactly how far the team behind it have come as a group, well done to them. With all the assistance they received from grants especially the $150,000 from Kraken (who now use btcpayserver in their exchange) they have come a long way.

Those with websites using wordpress, woocommerce, drupal and others that can implement btcpayserver via plugins should consider giving it a try.

This is what I'm getting at. It used to be something of an effort to learn to use the thing but now with the additional options, fee management, escrow, just so many things you get (that you don't with BitPay), eventually, the more savvy web users will use btcpayserver as easily as they would BitPay, if not even easier.

They were great before they got funding, they're going to be so much faster at rolling out new implementations now they got financial backing.

P.S. Good to see this move to Service Discussion, deserves one!

[crwth]

I agree that BitPay is not going to die anytime soon because as said above, most merchants wants a convenient and easy way to instantly convert BTC to USD and BitPay happens to be one of the first services to provide that. However, I don't see them dominating the payment processors scene... not with the way they're currently operating anyway (enforcing KYC for buyers, trying hard to push B-cash, implementing BIP71,  banning countries etc.).

Thank you for clarifying it. It's kind of a hassle to register an account to buy an item or a service of some sort. I remember when using CoinPayments, it would easily be sent you just have to put some details like email. I steered away from CoinPayments as well when they required the KYC as well for members. It's become quite a hassle as well.

@crwth, LTU_btc It's true that it will likely dominate for a long time to come, but when it actually has good competitors who now have funding, like btcpay does, it will be forced to innovate to remain competitive. So if it chooses to do so, then it's still a win.

It's a healthy competition then. I'm hopeful that there would be a payment processor that would overtake anyone. Could there be a decentralized one too? No regulations to follow or something? It would be harder and lots of consequences with that, I guess.

[JollyGood]

I understand your point about volatility in crypto prices but as old-fashioned as it might seem the straight forward way around this issue is for a store owner to manually convert their received BTC in to a stable coin themselves via an exchange.

The problem is converting from cryptocurrencies to fiat, when a store accepts payments in cryptocurrencies they does not do it charity but to make profits, the volatility of cryptocurrencies makes it difficult to determine the profits.

If you are a store owner, I prefer to pay high fees and get profits on my bank account instead of waiting until I make some gains from cryptocurrency.
If BTCpay accepts some stable coins or exchange to them, it may make a difference.