Payments Provider BitPay Rolls Out Cryptocurrency Payroll Service

[Charles-Tim]

Payments provider BitPay has launched a new service enabling businesses to pay employees, contractors, customers and vendors en masse with cryptocurrency. With the new service, companies don't need to buy, own or manage cryptocurrency, while the recipients receive payment more efficiently and at a reduced cost, Pair added. Recipients need to have a BitPay ID and cryptocurrency wallet in order to receive payment and companies are charged a 1% fee. There are no foreign exchange fees. With the launch, BitPay now provides an alternative to crypto payroll services such as BitWage.
https://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-payments-mass-cryptocurrency


https://bitpay.com/send/

[Becky666]

The 1% fee charge for the transaction is my attraction point for their service and no foreign fee inclusiveness irrespective of the companies or individual locations. This is a welcome development, after some years of sluggish mode they (BitPay payment company) finally absolved the segregated witness (SegWit) which give advantage of a more cheaper transaction fee compare to the Legacy wallets. I think we are gradually approaching that moment when various merchants and vendors without this payment method see themselves retrogressing.

[coupable]

Recipients need to have a BitPay ID and cryptocurrency wallet in order to receive payment and companies are charged a 1% fee. There are no foreign exchange fees.

BitPay ID? Does that mean recipients need to register at BitPay?

Yeah, something like a registration process. Eight days back, the published a guide in their official support page about how to go with bitpay id process, see here : https://support.bitpay.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037486651-How-do-I-complete-the-BitPay-ID-process-
Of course, it requires email verification and a full KYC process to get a verified bitpay id .

[joniboini]

Can I not pay employees, contractors, customers and vendors en masse with bitcoin using my noncustodial bitcoin wallet? I think they are introducing p2p which is already in the nature of how bitcoin was, is and will always originally be by design.

Of course, you can manage the payment on your own. Service like this is targeting those businesses who don't really mind using third-party services to manage their payroll network. Not sure which P2P is introduced here though. If anything, they're introducing a control point like other centralized services.

[Charles-Tim]

The 1% fee charge for the transaction is my attraction point for their service and no foreign fee inclusiveness irrespective of the companies or individual locations.

The 1% fee is too high for me, people sending millions of dollars will see it high. I can pay as less as possible while using my noncustodial wallets.

BitPay ID? Does that mean recipients need to register at BitPay?

They have tedious verification just like before, nothing changed about their verification than for more privacy depriving policies that they possibly could add to the present ones. There is nothing these organizations providing custodial services will provide than ways for customers to provide kyc.

[Krislaw]

Firstly, the fee is kind of much, especially for making huge payments. Other wallets could serve as an alternative and only have to pay blockchain miner fee.
Second is that full registration is needed and what that means is that user will have to undergo KYC to use the feature.

[Charles-Tim]

As i expected, you need to register and perform KYC verification. The only remaining question is, does "cryptocurrency wallet" refer to any cryptocurrency wallet/address or their crap wallet?

This question also came to my mind before posting the topic, but I have register an account on bitpay not long ago using a*******s details, I used it for the purpose of contacting bitpay's customer care, if they responded, I will bring the feedback in details on this thread. But, because such services will still require serious verifications, including photo id like international passport, national id or verification like drivers license, this is just a custodial means of performing p2p transactions, when p2p transactions should be perfectly noncustodial.

[Csmiami]

I think you should all stop thinking as individual bitcoiners here and start thinking as a "normal" business, which has 0 knowledge about crypto at all, and that they are now offered a service that lets them pay that strange employee that wants to be paid in crypto with a 1% fee. It's not really that much for the volume they will handle (each company), and of course it will require KYC. I don't know why that was even a doubt; we are talking about a usual business, that pays taxes and has to keep record of their employees paying the employees salary. Government is involved here in many ways, so...

But this is just my opinion; don't think as a bitcoiner here, think as a "normal person" or a company

[exstasie]

Smart move, this will allow them to further hedge the payment processing (liquidating or selling merchant BTC for fiat) side of the business, beyond depending on standard OTC liquidity.

Build up liquidity on both sides of the market, then take their 1% on each side. That's good business.

Recipients need to have a BitPay ID and cryptocurrency wallet in order to receive payment and companies are charged a 1% fee. There are no foreign exchange fees.

BitPay ID? Does that mean recipients need to register at BitPay?

Yep, I remember they introduced it after the FATF published the new travel rule. They began requiring it if you want to send $3K+ or receive $1K+ through Bitpay.

To be fair though, collecting photo ID, taxpayer ID#, etc. is really standard for payroll processing companies. In most countries (certainly the US and similar) it's required for tax reporting and/or withholding. I would be surprised if they didn't require verification.

[buwaytress]

Now this is interesting. I know Bitwage served a lot of needs but they had jurisdiction problems, think I'll actually start looking into this, as much as I detest the service I use a lot (payment processor).

To be fair though, collecting photo ID, taxpayer ID#, etc. is really standard for payroll processing companies. In most countries (certainly the US and similar) it's required for tax reporting and/or withholding. I would be surprised if they didn't require verification.

Yup! I don't know any country that doesn't require this -- although the laxness on the part of some makes payroll companies quite popular in some, as a means for people to legitimize their residency with a salary. I know quite a number of freelancers who just use payroll companies where I live now, whose employers won't recognize them as employees, just moving their money through the payroll system to pay their own benefits, taxes, pensions from their income. I foresee the same happening for remote workers earning in crypto.

[Becky666]

The 1% fee charge for the transaction is my attraction point for their service and no foreign fee inclusiveness irrespective of the companies or individual locations.

The 1% fee is too high for me, people sending millions of dollars will see it high. I can pay as less as possible while using my noncustodial wallets.

Yes, as individual the fee will be an issue, but not as a company, even in our traditional settings Banks do charge for salary payments. Check-off-dues from my place of work is always in millions to State Chapters accounts, and these Banks do charged hell out of us, but they must make their gains right?, so, also will any company taking their payment into the Crypto-world. Things will normalize bruh......they will definitely do.

[coupable]

Recipients need to have a BitPay ID and cryptocurrency wallet in order to receive payment and companies are charged a 1% fee. There are no foreign exchange fees.

BitPay ID? Does that mean recipients need to register at BitPay?

Yeah, something like a registration process. Eight days back, the published a guide in their official support page about how to go with bitpay id process, see here : https://support.bitpay.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037486651-How-do-I-complete-the-BitPay-ID-process-
Of course, it requires email verification and a full KYC process to get a verified bitpay id .

As i expected, you need to register and perform KYC verification. The only remaining question is, does "cryptocurrency wallet" refer to any cryptocurrency wallet/address or their crap wallet?

As far as i can remember, Bitpay uses invoices that can only be paid using bitpay wallet scanner code. Maybe i am missing something but i remember those invoices can't be paid using any wallet as the transaction details are hidden within the code invoice .
Thi was one of the main reason why i recommend anybody to avoid services using BitPay gate but seems other service providers are worst like coinpaiements .

[PrimeNumber7]

The 1% fee charge for the transaction is my attraction point for their service and no foreign fee inclusiveness irrespective of the companies or individual locations.

The 1% fee is too high for me, people sending millions of dollars will see it high. I can pay as less as possible while using my noncustodial wallets.

1% appears to be more expensive than most payroll processing companies in the US (based on a recent google search).

I might see this as not unreasonable for companies with employees in multiple countries that are paid in multiple currencies, but a low number of total employees. Transferring funds overseas tends to be expensive for smaller amounts, and payroll processing seems to have a fixed cost plus a cost per employee.