Many cryptocurrency enthusiasts want to be able to spend it locally, but have no idea on how to make this a reality, instead waiting and hoping for perfect business solutions to come along. While a well-rounded business ecosystem is still in development for Dash, the infrastructure is there today to start effectively taking it for payments right now. This can even be worth it to a small merchant, for example a coffee shop. Here is a comparison between popular small business solution Square’s credit card processing fees and those of Dash, as well as a guide to get a business set up accepting Dash.
Square vs. Dash
Payment fees
While Square’s fees are not completely uniform, They tend to be around just under 3%, though manually entered card numbers carry an additional cost. Using Uphold to convert Dash instead cuts that fee in half. Accepting Dash directly reduces that fee to effectively zero, however this introduces higher risk due to price fluctuations and higher complexity in paying bills (for the time being).
Square: 2.75%
Dash with Uphold: 1.25%
Dash: ~0%
Transfer fees
Square’s flat rate includes most bank transfers. Uphold charges a flat $3.99 fee to transfer a fiat balance to a bank account. This means that Uphold will only save on net fees if the merchant waits long enough to transfer to their bank. Transferring funds directly in Dash costs nearly nothing, but as mentioned before this introduces a fluctuation and usability risk as mentioned above.
Square: $0
Dash with Uphold: $3.99
Dash: ~$0
Chargebacks
A difficult to quantify problem is the risk of chargebacks, where a user can cancel a payment after the fact, resulting in lost money for the merchant. This affects some industries much more often than others. For example, your average cafe might not care so much, but an online fitness supplements store may be significantly more worried. Using Dash, either directly or through Uphold, carries no chargeback risk.
Square: ~0.5%
Dash with Uphold: 0%
Dash: 0%
Overall fee comparison
Square: Most economical for transferring small amounts to a bank
Dash with Uphold: Lower net fees than Square when transferring in $200 or larger increments, the larger the better
Dash: Virtually no fees but carries fluctuation and liquidity risk at this early stage
How to Set a Small Merchant Up With Dash
1: Get a wallet or an Uphold account
First step is to decide how the merchant wants to accept Dash directly or convert. In the latter case, set them up with an Uphold account and a fiat currency card (USD card for example). In the former, set them up with a wallet that best fits their device, ensure that they back it up, and that they have stored the backup in a safe place. For the wallet, find and copy its xpub key. For Uphold, load the fiat card, select Dash, and copy that Dash address.
2: Set up Spark
On the point-of-sale device, go to the Spark website and either find the app in the App or Play Store, or click on “web app” in the top-right corner, then under the top-right browser select “save to home screen.” In the app, the top-left menu will bring up settings. Drop in the Dash address (Uphold) or xpub key (Dash wallet) in the top field, and adjust other settings. Set a password and save. The merchant is now ready to accept Dash payments as easily as cash.
3: Get on DiscoverDash and advertise for meetups
Finally, get the merchant listed on DiscoverDash. If you are part of a group of cryptocurrency enthusiasts in the area, try to set up a meetup at the establishment. Frequent the business yourself and help build up a customer base.
