(Originally posted 12/10/2013)

I decided to submit a Bitpay application for CoinNEO. I wanted to see how the application process worked, and get my hands on the merchant software tools so I can better educate myself about the features and functionality of Bitpay.

I assumed this would be a pretty fast process. Indeed, the application submission is quite easy and only takes a few minutes. I completed the application on November 18th. However, I have been waiting for several weeks for approval. I emailed Bitpay about this delay and they responded on December 3rd, stating they are simply overwhelmed with applications. I am not sure how long I will have to wait for approval.

If you are thinking of using Bitpay for your business, you may want to at least begin the application process early. It is not a 5 minute process like many believe it is. For me, it has been about 3 weeks and counting.

Update 12/15/2013:

Bitpay application process complete! I received my account info and it conducted a test transaction within minutes. This has a great feature I see already:

I can set up a payment page for my business. I enter the dollar amount and order number, and it then generates a QR code for the customer. Once the customer sends the payment, the page callback tells us that the payment has been received. This is a feature that is not built in to Coinbase’s merchant payment page. With Coinbase, the order confirmation is sent through email, or can be see in the merchant’s Coinbase account, but not right on the payment page upon completion.

Update 1/15/2014:

One day! A CoinNEO client filed a Bitpay application and it was approved in one day. Fantastic news, I think my personal experience may have been an anomaly.