Card to crypto payment gateways: take card payments, receive USDC

A card-to-crypto payment gateway lets your buyers pay with a normal card, Apple Pay or Google Pay while you receive crypto, usually a dollar stablecoin such as USDC. The buyer never needs a crypto wallet. A card on-ramp provider sells them the USDC as part of the payment, and the gateway delivers it to your wallet.

This page explains who does what in that chain, what it costs, what your buyers see, and how to add one to any website. For WooCommerce, there's a step-by-step plugin guide.

How it works#

Four parties take part in every payment:

The buyer enters their card details with the provider, so they never pass through your site. The payout is pushed to your wallet as its own on-chain transfer once the payment confirms: there is no balance to withdraw.

Compared with a merchant account or a crypto gateway#

A card-to-crypto gateway is the middle option. Your buyers pay in the way they're used to, and you get paid on-chain without a bank account application.

What it costs#

Two fees are involved, and it matters who pays each one:

• The gateway fee. With Caravel Pay it's 2% Caravel fee, on every method, taken from the payout. It also covers the Polygon gas for sending your payout.
• The on-ramp provider's fee. The provider's charge for card processing and for selling the USDC. With Caravel Pay the buyer pays it on top, sees it before confirming, and we take no cut. It varies by provider, method and country; on-ramp fees explained shows published tariffs.

Some gateways list the provider's fee as part of the merchant's cost instead. Then the buyer pays exactly the order total, but you receive less. When you compare gateways, compare what you keep per $100 on the methods your buyers actually use.

What your buyers see#

1. They choose the payment method in your checkout and land on a hosted page showing the amount and the ways to pay.
2. They pick card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. The provider shows its fee and the total before they confirm.
3. The provider may ask for 3-D Secure, and may ask the buyer to verify their identity, usually only the first time. Those are the provider's checks.
4. After paying, they return to your return_url, or to your cancel_url if they give up.

Two things help conversion. A line in your checkout description such as "Pay by card. Your card provider may ask you to confirm your identity." means fewer buyers are surprised by the check. And because some providers have minimum fees, small orders cost buyers proportionally more, so think about a minimum order value.

Adding it to any site#

Not on WooCommerce? Three pieces on your server are enough.

1. Get your keys, once#

curl https://api.caravelpay.app/v1/connect \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data-binary '{"site_url":"https://shop.example","payout_address":"0x52908400098527886E0F7030069857D2E4169EE7","platform":"api"}'

The response holds your merchant_id and secret. The secret is shown once, so keep it on your server. Details: Get your API keys.

2. Create a checkout per order, then redirect#

Send order_id, amount (for example "136.41"), currency: "USD" and your return, cancel and callback URLs to POST /v1/checkouts, signed with HMAC-SHA256. Then redirect the buyer to the checkout_url you get back. The quickstart has the signing helper in curl, Node.js, PHP and Python.

3. Mark the order paid from the webhook#

When the payment confirms, Caravel Pay sends a signed POST to your callback_url with "type": "checkout.paid" and the payout's transaction hash. Verify the signature, then mark the order paid. Webhooks are retried for up to 24 hours, so make the handler safe to run twice. See Webhooks.

How to choose a card-to-crypto gateway#

• The real fee per method, including whether it changes for Apple Pay, Google Pay or a card form.
• Who pays the provider fee, and whether the buyer sees it before paying.
• Payout token and network. Is it always the same token, and is it ever swapped?
• Short payments. Is the amount fixed on the server, and what happens when less arrives?
• Webhook security. Is every notification signed, and does the plugin verify it?
• Refunds and disputes. Can a payout be pulled back after a card dispute, and how do you refund a buyer?
• Rules. What can't you sell? Gateways and card providers both have prohibited lists.
• Who runs it. Can you reach support by email, and is it clear who operates the service?

Limits to know about#

• Provider decisions. Card providers can decline a card, a country or a payment. The buyer can then try another method.
• No chargebacks, but disputes still matter. With Caravel Pay your payout is a final on-chain transfer, so nobody can pull it back. If a buyer disputes the card payment, that's between the buyer, their bank and the card provider that sold them the USDC; it doesn't reach you. Card providers can stop serving sellers whose buyers dispute a lot, so fraud still matters: keep order and delivery records. Refunds are up to you, sent from your wallet.
• Taxes and rules. Being paid in USDC doesn't change your tax or licensing obligations. Ask an accountant how to record stablecoin income where you are.

Sources#

1. Caravel Pay docs: Quickstart, Get your API keys, Webhooks, Payouts and fees.