Use cases

Accept crypto payments for a SaaS or subscription

A SaaS accepts crypto with Crypto Merchant by creating an invoice for each billing period and extending the account when the signed invoice.paid webhook arrives. Crypto wallets can't be charged automatically, so a renewal is an invoice the customer pays, with a reminder when one expires. For prepaid credits, sticky wallets give each customer a permanent deposit address that credits their balance on deposit.confirmed. The fee is 1% per paid invoice, with no monthly fee.

Updated 6 November 2026

Everything on this page describes how Crypto Merchant works today, as set out in the API reference, the checkout docs and Pricing. Nothing here is a claim about other gateways.

At a glance

Topic	How it works
How customers pay	An invoice page per billing period, linked from your billing screen or a renewal email. For prepaid balances, their own permanent deposit address, one per network.
What you build	A job that creates an invoice when a period ends, with `metadata` naming the account and period, and a webhook endpoint that extends the account. Or `POST /sticky-wallets` per account.
Recurring charges	Not automatic. A crypto wallet can't be debited, so each renewal is a new invoice the customer pays. The `invoice.expired` event tells you when to send a reminder.
Pricing and holding	Price plans in dollars or another supported currency; stablecoins count as one US dollar each. Swap everything you receive into USDT or USDC so revenue doesn't move with the market.
Customer records	Send `customer_email` and payments are grouped by customer in the portal; `order_id` and `metadata` come back on every webhook.
Documents to sign up	None. You don't need a registered company to open an account; the Terms still apply.

How does it work, step by step?

A monthly plan, from the end of one period to the start of the next:

1
Create an invoice when the period ends
A scheduled job calls POST /invoices with the plan price, an order_id such as the subscription id plus the period, the customer's email, a redirect_url back to your billing page, and metadata naming the account and period.
2
Show the customer where to pay
Put the checkout_url behind a “Pay with crypto” button on the billing page and in the renewal email. The customer picks a coin, the rate is locked, and the invoice stays open for the time you set, 30 minutes by default.
3
Extend the account on invoice.paid
Verify the signature, save the event, reply 2xx, then extend the account named in metadata by one period. Use the event id so a repeated delivery doesn't extend it twice.
4
Remind on invoice.expired
If the invoice expires unpaid, create a fresh one and email it. An expired invoice keeps nothing: the rate was locked only while it was open.
5
Prepaid credits: give each customer a permanent address
With sticky wallets, POST /sticky-wallets with your own id for the customer returns the same addresses every time. Show them on a top-up page; on deposit.confirmed, credit the customer named in sticky_wallet.reference.

The one API call it takes

Invoice one billing period

curl https://cryptomerchant.online/api/v1/invoices \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CM_SECRET_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "amount": "29.00",
    "currency": "USD",
    "order_id": "sub_8f3a-2026-11",
    "description": "Pro plan, November 2026",
    "customer_email": "[email protected]",
    "redirect_url": "https://app.example/billing?paid=1",
    "metadata": { "account": "8f3a", "period": "2026-11" }
  }'

# On "invoice.paid": extend account 8f3a by one month (metadata is echoed back).
# On "invoice.expired": send a reminder with a fresh invoice.

What does it cost?

1% of each paid invoice, deducted when the payment is credited to your balance. There is no setup fee, no monthly fee and no payment to go live; expired and cancelled invoices cost nothing. Moving coins (sweeps, swaps and payouts) carries a gas fee, taken from your gas balance if you add one, otherwise from the coins being moved. Customers also pay a gas fee on each invoice: it is added to the amount they send, shown at checkout and never more than $5. Swap rates include a 1% service margin. Every cost is in one table on Pricing.

What Crypto Merchant doesn't do here

No automatic renewals. There is no card on file to charge and no subscription object. Your job creates each period's invoice, and the customer pays it.
No tax or dunning engine. Crypto Merchant creates invoices, takes payments and tells your server; VAT, receipts and reminder emails are yours to build.
Custodial, crypto-only. Balances sit in a pool wallet Crypto Merchant holds until you pay out to your own addresses. There is no bank settlement.

Who is this for?

Developer tools, APIs and software sold to customers in many countries.
Products whose customers already hold stablecoins and prefer to pay with them.
Teams without a registered company that can't open a traditional merchant account.

Frequently asked questions

Can Crypto Merchant charge my customers automatically every month?

No. Crypto wallets can't be debited by a merchant. Each renewal is an invoice the customer pays; you create it with the API when the period ends and remind them if it expires.

How do I know which account a payment belongs to?

Send the account id in order_id or metadata when you create the invoice. Both come back unchanged in the invoice object and in every webhook about it.

Can I price my plans in USDT?

Invoices are priced in a currency such as US dollars, and stablecoins count as one dollar each, so a $29 plan costs 29 USDT plus any gas fee shown at checkout. The customer can still pay in any coin you accept, and you can swap everything you receive into USDT or USDC.

What are sticky wallets for?

Prepaid balances. Each customer gets permanent deposit addresses, one per network, and every confirmed deposit is added to your balance with a webhook that names the customer, so you can credit the right account.

Other use cases

All use cases

Start accepting crypto today

Free setup, no documents to sign up, 1% per paid invoice, and payouts whenever you want.

Create your account Read the docs