A major online retailer needed a secure way to accept alternative currency to solidify its position as a world ecommerce leader
The situation
It’s a brave new world: virtual currencies that bypass traditional banking systems. Also called cryptocurrencies, these cash alternatives consist of a series of numbers that can be traded between accounts, or “wallets,” for services or goods over the Internet. A leading online retailer noticed this fast-growing consumer segment and wanted to quickly capitalize on the payment shift in order to boost online sales.
The challenges
By its nature, cryptocurrency does not have an authorization step - a huge problem in online retail sales. The retailer also needed to maintain a smooth customer shopping cart experience. To achieve these goals, the Alacer Group’s multiple teams recommended the creation of a new Java client that would facilitate communication to a third party gateway. It would extract the more difficult aspects of an alternative currency transaction from the shopping site while securely recognizing cryptocurrency as an accepted payment method - despite its lack of an authorization step. It would confirm payment and send a callback to the retailer, triggering the creation of a customer order. Cancellations and refunds would be handled in a similar manner.
What Alacer did
Alacer designed a secure, integrated cryptocurrency interface encompassing a third- party gateway
Documented results
In the implementation’s first month, the retailer accepted over $1 million in alternate currency, sales currently average $2,500 daily. Over 60% of these orders are from new customers who had never used the site until its acceptance of cryptocurrency.
Historical Alacer engagement. Wording and results are based on the supplied original PDF. Numbers reflect the scope and time of this engagement; results vary. EPIF is the firm's current methodology and is not presented as the named framework used in these historical projects.