Accept Zcash payments online
Accept Zcash (ZEC) payments online, including fully shielded, private payments, settled straight to a Unified Address you control. Shieldz is a non-custodial Zcash payment gateway: it watches the chain with a view-only key while your spending key never leaves you. $0 platform fee, no KYC to start, and you can be live in minutes.
In one line: paste a Zcash viewing key, and buyers pay shielded ZEC directly to your own Unified Address. Shieldz confirms the payment and fires a signed webhook, but never holds the coins.
Why accept Zcash
Zcash is the payment coin for customers who want privacy. In a shielded (z-to-z) transaction the amount, sender and receiver are encrypted on-chain, which is exactly why privacy-focused buyers, VPN and hosting customers, and donors reach for it. Most crypto payment processors do not support Zcash at all, and almost none support shielded Zcash. Accepting it puts you in front of a small, underserved, high-intent audience with very little competition.
Shielded vs transparent Zcash
Zcash has two address types, and the distinction is the whole point. Transparent (t-addresses) behave like Bitcoin: the amount and addresses are public on the ledger, so accepting transparent ZEC gives you none of the privacy people choose Zcash for. Shielded (z-addresses, using the Sapling and Orchard pools) encrypt the transaction details. The payment still confirms on-chain, but the amount and parties are hidden. Shieldz is built for the shielded path: you accept private z-to-z payments to your own Unified Address using a viewing key, not transparent-only. That is the part almost no other gateway does.
How to accept Zcash payments online, step by step
- Get a Zcash wallet and its Unified Full Viewing Key (UFVK). A viewing key can see incoming payments but cannot spend them, which is what makes this non-custodial.
- Give the UFVK to Shieldz. Create an invoice over the REST API, or send the buyer a hosted pay link.
- The buyer pays shielded ZEC to your Unified Address. Shieldz confirms it on-chain and fires a signed webhook.
- Funds settle to the address you alone control. There is no processor balance, nothing to withdraw, and nothing to freeze.
curl https://shieldz.cash/api/v1/invoices \
-H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_…" \
-d '{ "amount_usd_cents": 5000, "memo": "Order #1234" }'
Ways to accept Zcash, compared
A business can take ZEC in a few ways. Most either take custody of your coins, handle only transparent (public) Zcash, or require you to run and maintain a full node. Here is how the options compare:
| Method | Shielded ZEC | Custody | Platform fee | Setup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shieldz | Yes | Non-custodial | $0 (network fee only) | Paste a viewing key |
| Exchange payout | No | Custodial (exchange holds it) | Trading + withdrawal fees | KYC account |
| ZGo | Yes | Non-custodial | Subscription | Zcash-only tool |
| Self-hosted node | Yes | Non-custodial | Server cost | Run and maintain zcashd |
Shieldz is the hosted, non-custodial option that supports shielded ZEC without a server or a subscription, and it lets you accept Bitcoin and stablecoins alongside it. Compare it directly to ZGo, the original Zcash-native gateway.
Accept Zcash on your store or donation page
Beyond the API you can accept Zcash with no code. Use the WooCommerce plugin for a store, a keyless payment link or tip jar to drop anywhere, or a private donation flow for nonprofits. Digital sellers can take shielded ZEC for downloads and licenses without exposing the buyer.
Who accepts Zcash online
The clearest fit is anyone whose customers value privacy: VPN, proxy and offshore hosting providers, privacy-focused digital sellers, journalists and nonprofits taking private donations, and creators who want a private tip option. Shielded ZEC lets your customer pay without publishing the amount or their wallet to the world.
Why Shieldz for ZEC
Shieldz is a non-custodial Zcash payment gateway with $0 platform fees (you pay only the network fee), a clean REST API, HMAC-signed webhooks and SDKs for Node, Python, Rust and PHP. The key derivation is open, so you can verify the non-custodial claim yourself, and you can read exactly how Shieldz works. Unlike a Zcash-only tool you can offer ZEC alongside Bitcoin, USDC and USDT.
FAQ
Can I accept shielded (private) Zcash payments online? Yes. Shieldz watches for shielded z-to-z payments to your Unified Address via your viewing key, not transparent-only.
Is it custodial? No. You share only a view-only key (UFVK). The spending key never leaves you, so Shieldz can see payments but can never move them.
What does accepting Zcash cost? $0 platform fee. You pay only the Zcash network fee.
Do I need KYC? No KYC to start. Paste a viewing key and you are live.
Which wallets can pay? Any Zcash wallet that supports shielded (Sapling or Orchard) sends to a Unified Address, which is standard in modern ZEC wallets.
How fast does a payment settle? A shielded payment confirms on-chain in a few blocks and the webhook fires on confirmation; the funds are already in your own address.
Can I accept transparent ZEC too? The privacy value is in shielded ZEC, which is what Shieldz is built for. Transparent payments are public like Bitcoin and give none of Zcash's privacy.
Start free · API docs · Zcash payment gateway · step-by-step guide
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Crypto payment gateway: overview, non-custodial, Zcash.
Accept a coin: Bitcoin, USDC, USDT, Zcash.
Compare: vs Coinbase Commerce, vs BTCPay Server, vs ZGo, vs CryptAPI, vs NOWPayments, vs Cryptomus, vs BitPay, vs CoinGate, vs OpenNode, vs Plisio, vs BlockBee, vs CoinPayments.
Use cases: For freelancers, For creators, For open-source projects, For online stores, For SaaS, For VPN & hosting providers, For agencies, For nonprofits, For digital sellers.
Guides: Node.js, FastAPI, .NET, WooCommerce.
Build: SDKs, API reference, quickstart. Learn: overview, blog, how it works, supported coins, pricing, is it safe, verify it yourself.