Topic: I'm selling Reloadable Visa Debit cards for Bitcoin. (Read 9158 times)

Hey ! I've heard that centralized server is not essential for bitcoin transactions.So why there is a requirement for debit cards ? I mean there are several projects like Hostgames, that use decentralized technology for all the bitcoin transactions .

"Reader" is kind of a stretch, don't you think?

The raised numbers are meant to transfer an impression of the card to some carbon-paper at the point of sale. If you used cards 20 or 30 years ago you would be familiar with this. The image of the card number, name and expiration which are on the front of the card get transferred when the cashier puts the slip on top of the card and slides a roller across them.

The "electronic use only" cards simply have the name and number printed on them, and no raised glyphs.

When they say "electronic use only" it usually just means you can't use them in the old impression type credit card readers. The numbers on the card are not raised and thus won't work in those old card readers.

Still, I wouldn't feel comfortable trying.  Especially since it is written "electronic use only" on the card.  I wonder why by the way, since the User Agreement document clearly states that the card could be used in an ATM and shops.   I'll try, but only if I have some cash aside in case it doesn't work.

most shops won't care at all. their machine tells them 'signature required' they ask for a signature. that's the entire thought process.

You may have trouble using a US card in the UK and Europe, since US cards (still) don't have chip and PIN, and shops may be reluctant to do signature transactions, or may ask for a photo ID.

I haven't tried to withdraw cash from an ATM, for I doubt it will work without a PIN.  As of using it as a credit card in a shop, I don't know either, but I'll try.


No, I can see the registration form and I could fill it, but it doesn't fit to enter a foreign address (it only ask me for a US state, for instance), and I don't want to enter fake infos.

I thought the card rules said you could use it at an ATM. To withdraw cash, you would use it as a credit card instead of an ATM card with a pin. I've never used a credit card at an ATM, so I don't know the details.

The cards around here are very US centric. Are they blocking you from registering because of your IP address or is it something else?

I actived the card so I'm pretty sure I could use it at least on the
web.   However, the registration process is necessary to get a PIN
number and to use the physical card on an ATM for instance.

I'd like to register but it seems that only US citizens can.


Any solution for foreign users?

If I — or someone else — is using a card from you to pay for illegal goods (drugs, kiddy pr0n, or whatever) or to send donations to ’terrorist groups’, and get busted for it, will you get associated with it?  Alternatively, if you get busted for criminal activity of whatever kind and ‘they’ trace the debit cards you've bought and resold, will your customers get associated with your crimes?

Cheers,

What are the current rates for cards?

Just want to let everyone know that I've received the card.  Haven't tried it yet, though.

I've replied to both emails.

I sent an email as well, business is clearly booming

This offer is really too tempting.  I've sent you an email.

Yeah, of course the rate will change with the market. I just wanted to get an idea of the premium. Even the $200 seems kind of high. I guess we'd all be better off if the limit was more like $500 or $1000.

I'll probably still do it, just to have a quick bitcoin cashout method, but I don't want to run a lot of funds through at a 10% cost, especially knowing most of it probably goes to a damn bank and not you.

Since the exchange rate for Bitcoin is constantly changing (did you notice the rally on Mt. Gox recently?), the price of the cards and refills will also change constantly.

However, right now I'll charge:

$50 card/refill: 193.55 BTC
$100 card/refill: 370.97 BTC
$200 card/refill: 709.68 BTC

The rates above are good for 5 minutes, and may be adjusted after that (depends on the rate at Mt Gox).

I'll also give a 10 BTC discount to the first person who buys a card.

Thanks for all the info. The $200 limit means it won't be a full replacement for my bank card. I won't be able to buy airplane tickets and cruises with 4 separate debit cards. Also it would be annoying to have to run it all the way in order to do a max fill, etc.

I'm still interested though. Are you going to announce rates soon? Maybe an early adopter special?

To offer this service, I'm basically buying the cards from a bank and selling them to you for bitcoin. The bank charges me a set fee per card, and the same set fee for each refill. To offer this service, I'll have to charge additional bitcoin to cover the bank charges and for me to make a little money.

The bank is offering the cards to entice people to open accounts with them to use the card. If you don't want to open an account, you can still use the card. However, you can only add $200 at a time to your card, and you will not be able to check your card balance online. I'm not sure if there is another way to check your balance.


Hmm... I think I gave you the wrong impression. I'm going to charge what ever the market can bear which is likely more than 1%. The most similar service to this one is bitcoin2cc.com. I'll probably charge something similar to that service. You'll have to pm or email me for details.


I'm setting the lower limit at $50 per initial fill or refill. Any less and the ratio of the fees to the value of the card itself would be absurd.


Yes!


If you don't open an account with the issuing bank, the max seems to be $200 (though I'm not positive and will have to look that up). Otherwise, I think the max is $10,000.


Yes, please do. When you want to add money to a card, you send bitcoin to me, and I'll send a code which will reload any card with the cash you purchased. If you have a PGP key, I can send the code encrypted in an email.

Basically, you would just buy a reload code from me when you need it. I would have no idea how many cards you have.


Yes and no. The bank does offer to replace lost or stolen cards for a fee, but you may need to be a member of the bank. Otherwise, it's just like losing cash and you may not want to keep too much money on the card.


As above, you can purchase as many cards as you want, and as many refills as you want. Apply the refills to any card you want.


Eventually, I'll automate refills. If this service is really popular, I will automate it as soon as possible. Otherwise, I'll refill them manually until I get too annoyed at refilling them and either pay someone to automate it for me, or find some time to do it myself.


First you would have to get the card, which would take a few days to arrive in the mail. Since I'm refilling them manually, it could take as much as a day to refill. If there is enough demand, I'll keep some refills on me at all times, and send them as they are bought.

lol

That's exactly what I thought