How to Pay a Bitcoin Invoice

Bitcoin Payments — Know your Risks First

Bitcoin Payments — Know your Risks First

Disclaimer: Note that there is no escrow of funds happening. Bitcoin payments are irreversible by design and a refund is not possible in case the seller cheats. Please be aware of the risks and do your own due diligence before making any bitcoin payments

Online shop reviews

When using any online shop, you can view/submit seller rating(s) on https://www.trustpilot.com. This is a global platform that maintains reviews of millions of shops. Feel free to consult other review sites too and do your own research


The below 3-step guide will walk you through the process of how to pay a bitcoin invoice.

Step 1: Get a Bitcoin Wallet

There are various options available for a bitcoin wallet each with varying benefits. For this guide, I will be using a third-party service called blockchain.com

#1. To set-up a bitcoin wallet head over to blockchain.com and click on ‘Get a Free Wallet’.

#2. You will be redirected to a sign-up where you will need to create a wallet account using your e-mail and a password.

That’s it! You just created a bitcoin wallet that you can now use to pay bitcoin invoices. You can use the Send/Request buttons to send or receive bitcoin.

When you click on the ‘request’ button you will see a popup window that will display an address. This address is called a bitcoin address (looks like a string of random letters and numbers), which is a unique address valid only for your wallet. You can use this address to receive bitcoin into your wallet.

Receive Bitcoin

More Options for Bitcoin Wallets (feel free to skip this section and head down to Step-2):

Some popular options are mentioned below, if you wish to create your wallet using any one of them, simply click on it and follow the guide.

  1. Android/iOS Wallets: MyCelium, Coinomi, Edge, Bitcoin.com
  2. Desktop Wallets: Exodus, Electrum
  3. Hardware Wallets: Ledger, Trezor
  4. Online Third-Party Wallet providers: Btc.com
  5. Paper Wallet

Step 2: Purchase Bitcoin and send it to your wallet

Once you have created your Bitcoin Wallet, its time to fill it up with some bitcoin. To purchase bitcoin the most convenient and secure way is to use a bitcoin exchange.

There are many cryptocurrency exchanges available that can be used to purchase bitcoin for fiat currency. Payment options vary but the majority of exchanges have the option to pay via bank transfer while some also accept credit and debit cards.

Since the use of bitcoin exchanges involve fiat transactions, their usage varies based on location to accommodate the necessary regulations as well as currency support.

For this guide, I have covered 3 locations, India, USA, and Europe. Additionally, I have mentioned a few options for globally recognized exchanges at the end of this section.

India

When buying bitcoin in India, one of the most reliable and trusted exchange is WazirX.

You can view the step-by-step guide to buy bitcoin using WazirX here.

WazirX

USA

In the USA, the most popular and perhaps the easiest-to-use exchange to buy bitcoin is Coinbase.

You can view the step-by-step guide to buy bitcoin using Coinbase here.

Coinbase

Europe

BitPanda takes the lead in Europe as the best exchange to buy/sell bitcoin. It offers an easy-to-use platform and multiple payment options to buy bitcoin.

You can view the step-by-step guide to buy bitcoin using Bitpanda here.

BitPanda

More Options for Bitcoin Exchanges (feel free to skip this section and head down to Step-3):

Some popular options are mentioned below, they are globally recognized and operate in multiple countries.

If you wish to use any one of them, simply click on its name and follow the step-by-step guide:

  1. Exchanges: Kraken, Binance, BitStamp, Gemini
  2. Peer-to-peer: LocalBitcoin, Paxful
  3. Bitcoin ATM

Step 3: Pay your Bitcoin Invoice

Once you have bitcoin in your wallet you can now pay bitcoin invoices.

To pay the invoice you have to:

1. Copy the Bitcoin Address:

The bitcoin address can be copied and pasted in your desired wallet to make the payment.

2. Copy the amount in BTC:

Once you have copied the bitcoin address, you have to copy the amount mentioned in the invoice. Make sure to copy the amount mentioned in BTC and not the fiat currency (USD, Euro, etc.).

3. Send the Bitcoin

In your wallet, click on the ‘send’ button which will open a pop-up window. Enter the copied bitcoin address and amount in the respective sections and make the payment.

Send Bitcoin

A few important points to remember:

  • Irreversible Transactions: Bitcoin transactions are irreversible and most payment processors do not have a refund facility. Before transacting with any merchant please do your due diligence.
  • Network Fees: All bitcoin transactions incur a network fee which is the fees paid to the miners who run the algorithms to fulfill your transaction.
  • Transaction Confirmation: Bitcoin network can sometimes get clogged so your payment may take some time to confirm. Just look-up your transaction at blockonomics.co to get an estimate of your confirmation time. Also, make sure to pay the proper network fee to get faster confirmation time.