BitPay is the largest online Bitcoin payment processor in the world. The company has introduced some changes over time, which aren’t always appreciated. In a new effort, the company is addressing challenges associated with Bitcoin. The Bitcoin Payment Protocol will soon become mandatory for all transactions. This protocol has been on the company’s roadmap since back in 2014. It is an interesting change, as it will prevent any errors made during the payment process.
To put this into perspective, few people have issues paying a BitPay invoice. All they need to do is copy the wallet address or scan a QR code. It doesn’t require a degree in rocket science to successfully complete transfers. However, for novice users, things are not necessarily clear-cut in this regard. There is plenty of room for errors, which can have very dire consequences. In fact, the biggest issue is sending the wrong Bitcoin amount. Without any auto correction in place, that can lead to a complicated partial refund process.
Another Interesting Change by BitPay
Other issues include sending it to the wrong address or paying a low fee resulting in payment delays. None of these scenarios are acceptable to users or BitPay themselves. Addressing these problems has proven to be quite challenging, as there is no “cookie-cutter” solution right now. Moreover, BitPay merchants and customers are getting tired of these erroneous transactions. Everything needs to be done manually, which costs a lot of time and money.
This is where the Payment Protocol comes into the picture. It is designed to eliminate any user error in Bitcoin payments. Transactions occur through an SSL-based connection between customer and BitPay directly. There will be no copying of information or entering payment amounts manually. Instead, the users’ client will automatically receive the payment request and fill in all the details. One would wonder why this feature was never introduced sooner.
This new feature allows for proper analysis of transactions to automatically determine the miner fee. That is a rather interesting development, although not one most people may approve of. It does eliminate payment delays and erroneous payment information. However, it also takes away some control users have over their own funds. It is not hard to see the benefits of Payment Protocol, but it’s not an ideal situation either. However, it is a valuable addition. All of this will depend on whether or not wallet service providers will integrate this new feature.