Embedded payments have the potential to take crypto into the mainstream. But, without the right payments partner, many crypto platforms struggle to realise their potential. Traditional banks often can't support (or understand) crypto, and many are hesitant to work with Web3 businesses until the market becomes more established.
Luckily, Modulr has a deep understanding of crypto, and currently works with over 70 crypto platforms, including some of the UK and Europe’s leading crypto companies.
Join us as we show you how…
It’s crypto challenging out there
It’s a fascinating time for the crypto space and despite the headline-grabbing fluctuations and the volatility of recent market conditions, digital assets are still an emerging force in financial services.
But Web3 businesses face significant challenges, not least the high levels of competition in the market when it comes to attracting new customers.
The crypto-averse attitude of most traditional banks and financial institutions has also negatively impacted the onboarding of crypto businesses, as well as causing concern and nervousness amongst existing crypto platforms. These institutions have neither invested in understanding crypto, nor built the capability to support it.
Without a crypto-friendly payments partner, many crypto companies are challenged with managing the flow of fiat money on and off their platforms, due to poor APIs and limited payment options for customers. This results in a customer experience that falls far short of expectation.
After all, whether they’re crypto-cautious or crypto-curious, customers want to dabble in crypto in a way that’s as friction-free and intuitive as their last (and best) fiat experience. But, the crypto reality is often compromised by slow, error-prone fiat channels, with funds taking hours or even days to be sent and received. By which time, price points have changed, customers have been lost, and non crypto-natives put off entirely.
In order to aid widespread adoption and stickiness, cryptocurrencies must deliver at least the same features that people associate with the Ubers and the Amazons of the world, including immediacy and real-time transactions. But most crypto applications simply do not have the fiat on/off ramp capabilities or meet the regulatory standards to offer such capabilities.
Why embedded payments are the answer
Embedded payments are the enablers of customer (and fiat) friendly crypto propositions. Embedding payments into crypto platforms not only makes processes much more efficient and reduces operational cost, but can also deliver a measurable competitive advantage.
Embedded payments are fully integrated, seamless, invisible and instant, supporting rather than obstructing the business flows they have been designed for. For this to work in practice, embedded payments are based on rich APIs making the underlying payment systems accessible through a single point of integration and with a degree of flexibility that has not been seen before.
But not all embedded payments partners are equal, or equally crypto-friendly.
How Modulr can lend some embedded payments power to your proposition
With Modulr as a trusted embedded payments partner, crypto companies can integrate seamlessly with the fiat world and supercharge their crypto, blockchain and DeFi offerings. Whether they want an instant fiat on/off-ramp or to run a full-scale fintech super-app with crypto at its heart, Modulr can support with secure, transparent, real-time transactions that deliver a brilliant customer experience. We’re talking things like instant notifications, Confirmation of Payee, and support for Open Banking payments, along with virtual and physical card issuing.
We can do all this because, we’re one of the few non-bank payment service providers (PSPs) to have direct access to the Bank of England and the UK fiat payment schemes, with no third party in between. We package up all this payment scheme access, together with our regulatory permissions and bespoke payments infrastructure, to enable crypto platforms to quickly and easily embed fiat payments capabilities directly into their technology and brand.
We help our crypto partners to provide a seamless fiat on-ramp payments experience for their customers by leveraging our EMI licence to set up unlimited customer accounts, within seconds. With customer funds safeguarded under this license, they can also put consumer protection at the heart of their solution. And they can also use our UK and EU regulatory support to ensure they’re fully compliant as they expand their offering.
Modulr EMI accounts come with UK sort codes and account numbers or IBANs for EU accounts and are ready to receive fiat funds. And, thanks to our direct participation in the Faster Payments and SEPA Instant scheme, accounts can be topped-up instantly, with funds arriving in seconds, 24/7.
Our Open Banking capabilities enable crypto platforms to offer Payment Initiation to redirect end users to their bank or building society so they can make fiat payments smoothly and efficiently. Customers are sent a prepopulated link for a fast, user-friendly experience, reducing the risk of drop-off and making it easy for non-crypto natives. This also reduces reliance on expensive card payments which typically charge a percentage per transaction. Instant notifications provide positive confirmation of actions and transactions, improving the overall customer experience and stickiness.
And, for those that have ambitions to become the next, best crypto super app, we can help to build out new features, grow a proposition and remain competitive. The addition of Direct Debits, open banking, virtual and physical cards, and more, will take any crypto business from niche to fully fledged financial super app by using the best available rails to make payments, depending on what users need to do. This drives up customer engagement by offering a more complete service to meet their financial needs.
In short, with our proven payments engine and full-stack solution, we’re the crypto platform’s one-stop-shop for all UK and EU embedded payments needs; enabling it to go further and grow faster. By partnering with Modulr, our crypto clients can provide customers with a payment experience equivalent to that of a traditional bank account, but one that’s seamless, crypto-enabled, and instant. They can open the door to going mainstream and become the primary account for their users, and all far more cost effectively and efficiently than they can do alone.
So, if you're a crypto business and you want to find out more about the embedded payments potential and what it could mean for your business, download our free guide today.