BitPay review: products, technology and pricing (2026)

BitPay is a crypto payment processor: businesses use it to accept Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies and stablecoins from customers and to receive the proceeds in fiat currency, crypto or both. It publishes a tiered fee of 1% to 2% plus 25 cents per transaction and, in July 2026, announced a MiCA authorisation for its European subsidiary.

The company says it has operated since 2011. Alongside merchant acceptance it sells invoicing, mass payouts and a self-custody wallet. Our BitPay vs CoinsPaid page sets it beside a gateway aimed at different customer types.

At a glance

How the platform works

A merchant creates an invoice through the BitPay API, a plugin or a payment button. The customer is sent to a BitPay-hosted invoice, picks a coin and pays from any compatible wallet. BitPay watches the blockchain, applies the confirmation level the merchant has chosen and then reports status changes by webhook. Settlement follows in the merchant's chosen form.

Specifics from the developer documentation:

• Pricing in fiat. Invoices are priced in a currency such as USD, EUR or BTC, and non-BTC prices are converted at market rates.
• Confirmation speed. A transactionSpeed setting (high, medium or low) controls how many confirmations count as paid, with an account-level default.
• Webhooks. The notificationURL must use HTTPS, and BitPay calls it when an invoice changes state.
• Rate limit. A merchant can create up to 100 invoices per hour, with further per-second and per-minute limits.
• Settlement. On its stablecoin page BitPay says payments are converted to the merchant's local currency with a bank settlement starting on the next business day, in USD, EUR, GBP and other currencies. Merchants can also settle in crypto or a mix.

BitPay's terms describe it as not a cryptocurrency exchange, and say its acceptance service does not involve custody. A Dutch foundation, Stichting Client Funds BMSE, is named as a vehicle to keep client funds apart from operating money.

Products

Merchant acceptance

BitPay Merchant lets registered businesses take crypto payments online, in person through the BitPay Checkout app on iOS and Android, or by emailed invoice. The stablecoin page lists plugins for platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce.

Send (payouts)

Send handles payroll, affiliate settlements and bulk payments. BitPay's payouts page says a business funds a payout in local fiat, BitPay converts it to a stablecoin and delivers it on-chain, and recipients provide a wallet address and choose their coin and network. Payouts can be triggered by API or a no-code dashboard, and BitPay says they run around the clock. Recipients need a wallet and some regions and industries may be restricted.

Wallet, Bill Pay and gift cards

BitPay Wallet is a self-custody app for holding, buying, selling and swapping crypto. Bill Pay lets US residents pay bills such as mortgages and loans, and gift cards can be bought through the app and a Chrome extension.

Developer experience and integrations

Account creation starts by contacting BitPay. The getting-started guide then lists online plugins and libraries, the REST API, payment buttons, the in-store app, donation pages and email or cross-border billing as ways to collect payments. For orchestration context, see our guide to payment orchestration.

Payment methods, currencies and coverage

BitPay's directory page lists 250+ companies and stores that accept crypto through it (undated). Its stablecoin page claims support for stablecoins that make up over 90% of the market by capitalisation, and names USDC as an example. A January 2024 release added dozens of assets for customer payments, including UNI, BNB, LINK, CRO and BAT, and introduced WalletConnect 2.0 on invoices. The same page also states more than US$7 billion processed and more than 13 million transactions since 2011 (undated). Stablecoin background: Circle and Coinbase both appear in this space.

Pricing model

The page says rates adjust automatically with cumulative monthly volume and that higher fees apply to high-risk industries without listing them. BitPay first announced the tiered structure on 11 January 2023. A support article describes refund miner fees being deducted from the merchant ledger, and network fees appear on the shopper's invoice. BitPay's payouts article cites a 1% to 2% flat fee for stablecoin payouts, but no full schedule is shown.

Recent launches

Regulation in brief

BitPay's terms of use say BitPay, Inc. is a FinCEN-registered money services business and a licensed money transmitter where required, and that BitPay B.V. is registered with and supervised by the Dutch Central Bank. On 16 July 2026 BitPay said BitPay B.V. had been authorised as a crypto-asset service provider under MiCA by the AFM. See how to check a financial licence and our MiCA explainer.

Who it tends to suit

BitPay may suit merchants that want to accept crypto and receive fiat without holding it, and businesses wanting stablecoin payouts through one provider. Those who prefer a gateway focused on larger platforms may also look at CoinsPaid. Crypto assets are volatile and this page is not advice. More in our crypto hub.