Ethereum Payment Gateway: How to Accept ETH and ERC-20 Tokens

What is an Ethereum payment gateway?

An Ethereum payment gateway gives each order its own payment address, watches the blockchain for the customer's ETH or ERC-20 token payment, and tells your system when it arrives. With BlockBee, each on-chain payment goes to your address once it confirms. On 26 October 2026, BlockBee's API listed native ETH, with a minimum of 0.0015 ETH, and 17 ERC-20 tokens, including USDT and USDC. Fees start at 1%, with volume discounts down to 0.25%, plus network fees.

How does an Ethereum payment gateway work?

With BlockBee, a payment in ETH or an ERC-20 token goes through five steps:

1. You create a payment through the API, a plugin or BlockBee Checkout, and BlockBee returns a new address for that order (address_in).
2. The customer pays that address from their wallet.
3. The payment confirms. With the API, you choose how many confirmations to wait for before the webhook (at least 1); Checkout and the PoS use the number set in Payment Settings.
4. BlockBee forwards the funds to the address you set in the dashboard (address_out), minus its fee and the network fee.
5. Your system gets a webhook with the payment details and marks the order paid.

With the API, you can set a forwarding priority for ETH and ERC-20 tokens; a higher priority is meant to confirm the forwarding transaction sooner and costs a higher network fee.

What is the difference between ETH and ERC-20 tokens?

ETH is Ethereum's native coin. ERC-20 tokens, such as USDT and USDC, run on the Ethereum network. For a merchant, three things differ:

• The ticker. Native ETH is eth; a token adds its network, as in erc20/usdt.
• The network fee. To forward a token, BlockBee has to pay the network fee in ETH, so its estimates for ERC-20 tokens are in ETH. On 26 October 2026, its API estimate to forward USDT on Ethereum to one address was 0.000374 ETH (about $0.86), against about 0.0001 ETH to forward native ETH.
• The token must match. By default, BlockBee's API ignores a payment in a different token from the one requested, so show the exact token and network at checkout.

On 26 October 2026, BlockBee's API listed these 17 ERC-20 tokens: 1INCH, ARB, BNB, CBBTC (Coinbase Wrapped BTC), DAI, LINK, MUSD (MetaMask USD), ONDO, PEPE, POL, PYUSD (PayPal USD), SHIB, TRX, USD1 (World Liberty Financial USD), USDC, USDT and WXRP (Wrapped XRP).

How much does it cost to accept ETH and ERC-20 tokens?

BlockBee's fee starts at 1%, with volume discounts down to 0.25%, plus network fees. The rate depends on your 30-day volume and your industry's risk tier, with no setup or monthly fees.

The network fee to forward each payment is deducted from it by default. For Checkout and the PoS, a Payment Settings option adds the estimated network fee to the customer's total.

Prepaid fees help most with tokens. You buy credits (1 credit = 1 USD) that pay BlockBee's fee, so it no longer needs a second transaction to collect it. For tokens such as USDT and USDC, both BlockBee's fee and the network fee come from credits, and the full payment reaches your address. Credits are held per profile and not refunded; when they run out, fees are deducted from payments again. BlockBee says prepaid fees can cut blockchain fees by up to 50%.

Worked example. A $100 order paid in USDT on Ethereum, at BlockBee's published 1% starting rate, pays BlockBee $1.00. BlockBee's API estimate to forward it on 26 October 2026 was 0.000374 ETH, about $0.86 at that day's API price of $2,307 per ETH. That estimate is for one output address. Without prepaid fees, BlockBee's own fee goes out in a second transaction, so the payment's network cost can be higher; with prepaid fees, credits pay both fees and there is no second transaction. Network fees vary with congestion, so check the estimator on the fees page. Our guide to crypto payment gateway fees shows how to add up a full month.

What are the minimums for ETH and ERC-20 tokens?

A payment below the coin's minimum is ignored and the funds are lost, so keep the minimums in mind when you set prices. BlockBee's API listed these minimums on Ethereum on 26 October 2026:

Minimums have changed before, so fetch the latest values from BlockBee's API.

Can you accept ETH on other networks?

BlockBee also lists ETH on Arbitrum One, Base, Optimism and Linea, among other networks. Its API showed these minimums on 26 October 2026:

A 0.0001 ETH minimum was about $0.23 that day, so customers can pay smaller amounts. Network fees can be far lower too. BlockBee's estimates that day, each for one output address, were about 0.000001 ETH to forward ETH on Arbitrum One and Optimism, under $0.01, against about 0.0001 ETH on Ethereum. For USDT, Optimism's estimate was under $0.01, against about $0.86 on Ethereum. Base was closer to Ethereum: 0.000084 ETH to forward ETH and about $0.68 for USDT. For Linea, and for current figures, check the estimator.

These networks make sense when your customers already hold ETH or stablecoins there.

How do you start accepting Ethereum with BlockBee?

1. Create a free account.
2. Add your receiving addresses for ETH and each token you accept on the dashboard's Addresses page.
3. Pick an integration:
   • BlockBee Checkout, a hosted payment page: your system creates a payment link and redirects the customer to it;
   • payment links made in the dashboard, with no code;
   • plugins for WooCommerce, Magento, OpenCart, PrestaShop and Odoo;
   • the API, with the ticker in the path, as in https://api.blockbee.io/erc20/usdt/create/.
4. Test with a small real payment. BlockBee has no sandbox or test mode. Its quickstart uses about $1 in Litecoin; a test in ETH must be at least 0.0015 ETH.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum ETH payment on BlockBee?

On 26 October 2026, BlockBee's API listed 0.0015 ETH on Ethereum, about $3.46 at that day's price. On Arbitrum One, Optimism and Linea it was 0.0001 ETH, and on Base 0.0003 ETH.

Who pays the network fee on an ETH payment?

You do, by default: BlockBee takes it out of each payment before forwarding the rest. For Checkout and the PoS, a Payment Settings surcharge can add the estimated fee to the customer's total. On tokens, prepaid credits can cover it.

Does BlockBee hold my ETH?

Only in transit. With an API Key V1, BlockBee receives each payment and forwards it, minus its fee and the network fee, to the address set in your dashboard once it confirms. If you also send payouts, the Self-Custodial Wallet is secured with TSS, so BlockBee cannot move its funds without your API key.

Can BlockBee pay me in dollars?

No. BlockBee pays out in crypto, not fiat. If you want dollars, receive ETH at an exchange deposit address and sell it on the exchange.

To get started, read the documentation or create an account.