There is now an increasing number of online businesses that accept Lightning payments.
On-chain Bitcoin transactions don’t scale for small amounts, which makes it impractical for everyday business. Hence, the use of Lightning Network enables almost instantaneous payments for low fees.
There are a couple options to choose from depending on technical expertise and whether you want to incorporate LN functionality directly into your website’s codebase or integrate with an e-commerce platform. Based on your preferences and how you want to entrust your funds, determine whether you want to run your own LN node like RaspiBlitz and Umbrel or using custodial LN wallets.
Payment Processors/Gateways
Payment processors specializing in Lightning payments, such as BTCPay Server and OpenNode, are popular because of streamlined solutions. Most processors not only have e-commerce platform plugins but also facilitate APIs and code libraries.
BTCPay Server: It comes with integrations into platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, Zapier, etc. It has several features from self-hosted software (great for privacy & trust), no KYC to LN support for various implementations. You will need to run BTCPay on your own server or use a third-party host such as Google Cloud. For custom integration for your site, use BTCPay API, which offers client and server-side pairing methods. Setting up and configuring BTCPay Server may be technically challenging, making it slightly inconvenient.
OpenNode: Similar to BTCPay Server, it also has plugins to platforms like BigCommerce, Shopify, and OpenCart. But it provides a hosted payment processing service. Reliance on a third-party platform, however, can raise concerns in the long-term on security.
Strike: Strike API enables the sending and receiving of payments via Lightning Network, directing payments to specific users, making cash payouts to bank accounts, and using OAuth for third-party permissions. In terms of payment experience, limitations can arise in terms of customization and flexibility.
Development with WebLN
WebLN is a JavaScript interface standard that bridges web applications and the Lightning Network, allowing for easy integration of Lightning functionality into web applications. There are also WebLN providers, such as Alby, which provide their own API service (Alby API) to enable instant payments.
However, direct integration needs a reasonable amount of web development experience and if you don’t want to or haven’t built a web application from scratch for your business, this will not be the best option.
Conclusion
Lightning Network enables fast, low-cost transactions, improving payment experiences and reducing operational expenses for businesses. Whether you take a streamlined or more hands-on approach, online businesses can now easily use and accept Lightning payments.