A comparison of 7 Bitcoin Payment Processors and their bitcoin conversion rate
I use Bitcoin to pay for a lot of things, and I often noticed that it seems that some Bitcoin payment processors calculate the amount of bitcoins required to pay by a different rate than my Bitcoin wallet. For example, if paying for something which costs 100 EUR, when I scan the QR code with my smartphone, my Bitcoin wallet shows the amount in euros as 102 EUR. I have decided to test if this is just a fluke, or is this a deliberate behavior by some Bitcoin payment processors (aka a hidden fee).
To test it, I have generated invoices on 7 different Bitcoin payment gateways for 100 EUR and 100 USD twice a day for 2 weeks, compared it to the bitcoin conversion rate on bitcoinaverage.com, and compiled the results. I have missed several measurements when I was unable to make them on time, but in the end I made a total of 30 measurements of invoices from each Bitcoin payment processor.
Bitcoin payment processors I tested:
https://bitcoinpay.com
https://bitpay.com
https://coinbase.com
https://coingate.com
https://coinify.com
https://coinsbank.com
https://paymium.com (only EUR measured)
The results in chart form:
Interactive charts:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DtCPYCh8CDv6Oh6lhJCfjBAbxK1IhcO1gDHt5u39DwM/pubchart?oid=1812289472&format=interactive
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DtCPYCh8CDv6Oh6lhJCfjBAbxK1IhcO1gDHt5u39DwM/pubchart?oid=1003355989&format=interactive
Raw data (the data used to generate the charts is in CHARTS tab; more detailed data is in DATA tab):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DtCPYCh8CDv6Oh6lhJCfjBAbxK1IhcO1gDHt5u39DwM
Screenshots of invoices:
https://jdoett5.imgur.com
Please let me know if this information is interesting to you and if there is anything I could have done better. I might do the same type of research again in the future, with feedback from the community.
What is your opinion about this? Are we often paying more than we should because Bitcoin payment gateways add fees that the customers are not informed of? Or do you think this is how things should be and such practices are acceptable?
To test it, I have generated invoices on 7 different Bitcoin payment gateways for 100 EUR and 100 USD twice a day for 2 weeks, compared it to the bitcoin conversion rate on bitcoinaverage.com, and compiled the results. I have missed several measurements when I was unable to make them on time, but in the end I made a total of 30 measurements of invoices from each Bitcoin payment processor.
Bitcoin payment processors I tested:
https://bitcoinpay.com
https://bitpay.com
https://coinbase.com
https://coingate.com
https://coinify.com
https://coinsbank.com
https://paymium.com (only EUR measured)
The results in chart form:
Interactive charts:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DtCPYCh8CDv6Oh6lhJCfjBAbxK1IhcO1gDHt5u39DwM/pubchart?oid=1812289472&format=interactive
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DtCPYCh8CDv6Oh6lhJCfjBAbxK1IhcO1gDHt5u39DwM/pubchart?oid=1003355989&format=interactive
Raw data (the data used to generate the charts is in CHARTS tab; more detailed data is in DATA tab):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DtCPYCh8CDv6Oh6lhJCfjBAbxK1IhcO1gDHt5u39DwM
Screenshots of invoices:
https://jdoett5.imgur.com
Please let me know if this information is interesting to you and if there is anything I could have done better. I might do the same type of research again in the future, with feedback from the community.
What is your opinion about this? Are we often paying more than we should because Bitcoin payment gateways add fees that the customers are not informed of? Or do you think this is how things should be and such practices are acceptable?