7 Mistakes Small Businesses Make with Crypto Payments (And How Self-Custody Fixes Them)

Small businesses are jumping into crypto payments. Fast.

But most are doing it wrong.

They're repeating the same mistakes that cost them money, control, and customer trust. The worst part? They don't even realize they're trapped in systems designed to profit from their transactions.

Self-custody changes everything. Here are the seven biggest mistakes merchants make: and how taking control of your crypto fixes them.

Mistake #1: Bleeding Money on Middleman Fees

The Problem: Payment processors like NOWPayments and CoinPayments charge 0.5% to 1% per transaction. Plus setup fees. Plus withdrawal fees. Plus conversion fees.

A $10,000 monthly revenue stream costs you $50-$100 just in processing fees. Every. Single. Month.

The Self-Custody Fix: When you control your own wallet, you pay only blockchain gas fees. No middleman taking a cut.

With Larecoin, transactions operate on Solana's lightning-fast network. Gas fees? Fractions of a cent. You keep what you earn.

NOWPayments charges 0.5% minimum. CoinPayments takes 0.5% plus network fees. Larecoin? Just the network cost. No processing markup.

The math is simple. More money stays in your business.

Mistake #2: Zero Proof of Payment

The Problem: Traditional crypto payments leave you with wallet addresses and transaction hashes. Good luck explaining that to your accountant.

No receipts. No invoices. No customer-friendly proof of purchase.

The Self-Custody Fix: NFT receipts change the game entirely.

Every Larecoin transaction generates an NFT receipt. It's verifiable, permanent, and contains all transaction metadata. Date, amount, wallet addresses, even product details.

Your customers can prove they paid. You can prove you received payment. Tax time becomes dramatically easier.

CoinPayments gives you a transaction ID. NOWPayments provides basic invoicing. Larecoin creates blockchain-verified receipts that live forever.

This isn't just better record-keeping. It's revolutionary proof-of-payment infrastructure.

Mistake #3: Volatility Exposure Without Protection

The Problem: You accept Bitcoin at $50,000. By the time you check your processor dashboard, it's worth $47,000.

Volatility destroys predictable cash flow. Payment processors force you to convert immediately (with fees) or hold and pray.

Neither option gives you control.

The Self-Custody Fix: LUSD stablecoin integration.

Larecoin supports LUSD: a decentralized stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. Accept payments in LARE, LUSD, or other tokens. Convert instantly within your self-custody wallet.

No waiting for processor approvals. No withdrawal delays. No conversion fee gouging.

NOWPayments charges conversion fees on top of processing fees. CoinPayments adds spreads to exchange rates. With Larecoin self-custody, you control when and how you convert: at actual market rates.

Mistake #4: Surrendering Control to Third Parties

The Problem: When NOWPayments or CoinPayments processes your payment, they hold your funds. You're requesting access to your own money.

They set withdrawal schedules. They determine security protocols. They can freeze your account.

You built the business. They control the treasury.

The Self-Custody Fix: Your keys, your crypto, your rules.

Self-custody means payments land directly in your wallet. No intermediary. No permission required.

Larecoin's payment infrastructure routes transactions peer-to-peer. Customer sends. You receive. End of story.

Want to withdraw? Do it. Want to hold? Your choice. Want to convert and spend? Go ahead.

This is merchant independence. This is how crypto was supposed to work.

Mistake #5: Impossible Refund Management

The Problem: Crypto transactions are irreversible. Payment processors offer limited refund tools: often requiring manual intervention and multi-day processing.

Customer disputes become nightmares. Chargebacks don't exist in crypto, so merchants need bulletproof refund systems.

Most don't have them.

The Self-Custody Fix: Direct control over refund transactions.

With self-custody wallets, you initiate refunds instantly. No ticket systems. No waiting for processor approval. No multi-step verification processes.

Your wallet. Your decision. Immediate execution.

Larecoin's NFT receipts make tracking refunds simple. Every receipt contains transaction history. Match the NFT to the payment. Issue the refund. Update the record.

CoinPayments requires manual refund requests through their dashboard. NOWPayments processes refunds in 24-48 hours. Larecoin self-custody? Instant merchant-initiated refunds.

Mistake #6: Trusting Third-Party Security

The Problem: Centralized payment processors are honeypots for hackers. When they get breached, your business suffers.

Exchange hacks. Database leaks. Security compromises that expose customer data and transaction history.

You're trusting their security team with your revenue stream.

The Self-Custody Fix: Security you control and verify.

Self-custody eliminates the single point of failure. Your private keys never touch a centralized server. Your transaction data never sits in someone else's database.

Larecoin integrates with hardware wallets and multi-signature setups. Want military-grade security? Configure it yourself. Want quick access? Set that up too.

NOWPayments stores merchant funds in hot wallets. CoinPayments maintains centralized custody. Both create risk concentration.

Self-custody distributes that risk. Multiple wallets. Multiple security layers. Zero dependence on third-party infrastructure.

Mistake #7: Missing Loyalty and Rewards Opportunities

The Problem: Traditional payment processors treat transactions as one-off events. No loyalty programs. No rewards infrastructure. No customer retention tools.

You're processing payments, not building relationships.

The Self-Custody Fix: Native rewards integration.

Larecoin's ecosystem includes built-in rewards functionality. Issue loyalty tokens. Create customer incentive programs. Build Web3-native retention strategies.

Self-custody wallets can hold LARE tokens alongside payment receipts. Customers accumulate rewards automatically. You control the tokenomics.

Check out the rewards program to see how merchants are building loyalty on-chain.

CoinPayments doesn't offer rewards tools. NOWPayments focuses purely on processing. Larecoin combines payments with engagement infrastructure.

This is the difference between accepting payments and building an ecosystem.

The Self-Custody Advantage

Every mistake above shares one root cause: dependence on intermediaries.

Payment processors profit from complexity. They charge fees for basic functionality. They hold your funds and call it "security." They limit your options and call it "compliance."

Self-custody flips the script entirely.

You receive payments directly. You control security measures. You decide when to convert or hold. You keep transaction records on-chain. You build loyalty programs your way.

The Larecoin ecosystem makes self-custody accessible. No technical degree required. No blockchain expertise needed.

Web3 global payments with gas-only transfers. Push-to-card functionality for instant fiat conversion. NFT receipts for permanent records. LUSD stability without centralized control.

Taking Back Control

Small businesses deserve better than the extractive payment processor model.

You shouldn't pay 0.5% to 1% per transaction just to access your own money. You shouldn't wait days for refunds. You shouldn't trust third parties with customer data and transaction history.

Self-custody isn't just cheaper. It's fundamentally different.

It's merchant independence. It's decentralized infrastructure. It's crypto payments working the way they were designed.

Visit the Larecoin payments page to see how self-custody works in practice. Join the developers community to integrate directly.

Stop making these mistakes. Start controlling your crypto payments.

Your business. Your wallet. Your future.