Litecoin (LTC) launched in 2011 as a lighter, faster sibling of Bitcoin. It uses the same basic design, unspent outputs, addresses and wallets that work very much like Bitcoin's, but produces blocks four times as often. For online stores it has earned a steady role as the "cheap and quick" option at checkout.
Is Litecoin worth adding to my checkout?
For most stores that already accept Bitcoin, yes. It costs almost nothing to enable, and it catches customers who want to pay with crypto without waiting ten minutes or paying a Bitcoin fee spike. It is a common recommendation in our starter set next to Bitcoin and USDT on TRON.
Litecoin fits especially well with:
- small and mid-sized orders, where even a modest Bitcoin fee would feel expensive;
- digital goods and subscriptions, where speed matters more than anything;
- hosting and SaaS invoices that renew monthly (see crypto payments for hosting companies).
Like Bitcoin, LTC's price moves. If you do not want exposure, convert on your own schedule or steer customers toward a stablecoin.
How cheap and fast are Litecoin payments?
As of late September 2026, BitInfoCharts showed a median Litecoin transaction fee of well under one cent, and litecoinspace.org was recommending the minimum fee rate for next-block inclusion. The average time between blocks was close to the 2.5-minute target.
With Payfim's default of 2 confirmations, most LTC payments move from confirming to paid in roughly five minutes, sometimes faster, occasionally slower when block times vary.
| Bitcoin | Litecoin |
|---|---|
| Target block time about 10 minutes | Target block time about 2.5 minutes |
| Payfim default: 1 confirmation | Payfim default: 2 confirmations |
| Fees usually low, can spike | Fees a fraction of a cent as of September 2026 |
Addresses: bc1, 1, 3 | Addresses: ltc1, L, M, 3 |
Choosing a wallet for LTC
Most hardware wallets and multi-coin non-custodial wallets support Litecoin. Pick one where you write down and store the recovery phrase yourself. Prefer a native SegWit address that starts with ltc1; it is the modern default in most wallets and cheaper for you to spend from later.
Adding Litecoin to Payfim
- Open Wallets & coins in your gateway.
- Paste your LTC address, for example
ltc1q…, into the Litecoin row. Addresses starting withltc1,L,Mor3pass validation. - Keep the confirmations field empty for 2, or enter your own.
- Toggle Litecoin on, Save wallets, then press Test.
That is all. There is no API key to create. Payfim queries the public litecoinspace.org Esplora API; if you run your own Litecoin Esplora instance, set Litecoin Esplora URL under Blockchain APIs.
A worked example: a $30 order paid in LTC
Say a customer buys a $30 software license. Here is what happens, using round illustrative numbers rather than a real exchange rate:
- At checkout they pick Litecoin. Payfim fetches the LTC price (CoinGecko first, with Coinbase and Binance as fallbacks) and shows an amount such as
0.31254873 LTC. The last few digits are the invoice's unique fingerprint. - They scan the QR code. It contains a
litecoin:payment link with the amount, so most wallets fill everything in. - The network fee is paid from their wallet on top of the amount, so you receive the full
0.31254873 LTC. - About five minutes later, after two blocks, the order in your store switches to paid and the license can be delivered.
Should I lower confirmations for LTC?
For low-value digital products, some merchants set Litecoin to 1 confirmation to shave a couple of minutes off delivery. For physical goods that ship days later, there is no reason to rush; keep 2 or raise it. The setting is per coin, so it does not affect your Bitcoin or stablecoin rules.
Litecoin gotchas
The "3" address trap. Both Bitcoin and Litecoin have legacy addresses that start with 3. Payfim's format check cannot tell them apart, so double-check you copied the address from your Litecoin account. A quick way to avoid the issue entirely: use an ltc1 address.
MWEB addresses. Litecoin's optional privacy extension uses addresses that start with ltcmweb1. Those are not accepted as receiving addresses in Payfim because payments to them are not visible on the public chain.
Customers sending from exchanges. If the exchange deducts its withdrawal fee from the amount, the payment can come in short. Beyond the 0.5% tolerance the invoice is flagged underpaid; see underpayments and refunds.
Expired quotes. LTC's price can move within the 30-minute rate lock. Payments that arrive after expiry are still detected and recorded, so you can decide what to do.
Paying from the receiving wallet. When you run a test, send from a different wallet. Moving coins from your own receiving address back to itself is confusing to read in the invoice history.
More coins with low fees
If fees are your main concern, also look at Dogecoin, Bitcoin Cash and USDT on TRON. The coin selection guide helps you pick a set that suits your customers.
Sources
Third-party facts were checked on the date shown above. Prices and features of other services change - always confirm on their official pages.