# Payment Flows This section provides an overview of how Bead enables digital payments across in store and online environments, followed by reference examples of common customer payment flows. The material here is intended to help integrators understand end to end behavior and system interactions rather than prescribe user interface or experience design. #### Payment Flow Overview Customers increasingly expect payment options beyond traditional credit and debit cards, including digital wallets, buy now pay later options, and cryptocurrency. Bead enables businesses to accept these digital payment methods while settling funds directly in US dollars to the merchant’s bank account. The video below provides a high level walkthrough of a complete digital payment flow, demonstrating how a business can accept a digital payment without directly handling cryptocurrency. While the example shown illustrates a customer completing payment from a separate device, the underlying flow applies across multiple payment contexts. End to End Digital Payment Flow (Reference Overview) {% embed url="" %} ### Choosing the right payment flow Different tender types create different customer and merchant experiences. Before enabling a tender for a merchant, location, terminal, or payment flow, confirm that the tender fits the environment where it will be used. For example, a tender that works well for an invoice or ecommerce order may not be appropriate for fast in-person checkout. BTC Classic / Bitcoin on-chain is a good example: it can be valuable for invoices, delayed fulfillment, deposits, and high-ticket transactions, but it may not be appropriate when the customer expects immediate goods or instant digital access. Use the Choosing Tender Types by Payment Environment guide before enabling BTC Classic or any tender that may require asynchronous completion. ### Flow planning checklist When designing a payment flow, decide: * whether the customer is paying in person or online * whether the customer expects immediate fulfillment * whether the merchant can delay fulfillment until final payment completion * whether staff can explain a pending payment state * whether the customer can leave the payment page before final completion * whether your system can use webhooks or payment status checks to confirm the final result * which tenders should be available for this specific merchant, location, terminal, or payment For most payment flows, fulfillment should be gated on the payment reaching `completed`. For BTC Classic / Bitcoin on-chain, the payment may reach `processing` after the transaction is detected, but the merchant should still wait for `completed` before releasing goods, shipping an order, granting access, or marking an invoice as paid. ### High Level Transaction Flow To complete a sale using Bead, the process generally follows these steps: 1. The sale is rung up in the merchant’s system. 2. The customer indicates they would like to pay using a digital payment method. 3. The customer selects from available tender options, such as cryptocurrency, digital wallets, or buy now pay later. The available tenders should match the merchant’s payment environment and fulfillment model. 4. Once the customer confirms they are ready to proceed, a payment prompt is generated for completion. 5. A real time exchange rate is locked in for the full payment amount when applicable. 6. The customer authorizes or submits the payment using their wallet or payment provider. 7. Bead detects the payment and updates the payment status. 8. If the payment enters `processing`, the payment is underway but not final. For most tenders this state may be brief. For BTC Classic / Bitcoin on-chain, this state may last several minutes or longer. 9. The merchant’s system receives payment status updates through webhooks or status checks. 10. The merchant fulfills only after the payment reaches `completed`. 11. Funds are converted and settled to the merchant in US dollars according to the merchant’s settlement configuration. Throughout this process, the merchant does not custody or manage cryptocurrency. Bead handles payment execution, conversion, and settlement, allowing businesses to offer modern payment options while maintaining a familiar settlement model. ### Related guides * [Choosing Tender Types by Payment Environment](/reference-guide/payment-flows/choosing-tender-types-by-payment-environment.md) * [Why do BTC Classic payments take longer?](/faqs-and-troubleshooting/payments-faqs/why-do-btc-classic-payments-take-longer.md) * [Tender Types](/reference-guide/enumerations-and-schemas/tender-types.md) * [Payment Statuses](/payments/payment-statuses.md) * [Payment Webhooks](/payments/payment-webhooks.md) * [Crypto Wallet Flow and Amounts](/payments/crypto-wallet-flow-and-amounts.md) * [Payment Scenarios](/reference-guide/payment-scenarios.md) --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. 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