In my experience of using bitcoin, the only times I've ever had to wait >0 confirmations is when using exchanges - these exchanges will not accept credit cards or paypal (since they do not trust the illusion of 'instant' payment they offer).
Every other time I've paid for anything with bitcoin, 0 confirmation transactions were accepted and the transaction was instantaneous.
Which merchants are not accepting 0 confirmation transactions? Perhaps we need a list.
Topic: No matter how much we love BTC, confirmations take way too long! - page 8. (Read 8492 times)
First they complain that bitcoin is too difficult for normal people, then they complain that confirmation time is too long and 0-confirmation is not sufficient, because the same people that were too dumb for bitcoin are now doing double spends.
I see the logic... NOT
I would trust my customers today with transactions above 10 000$ and 0 confirmations, because I know where they live.
For transactions of 50-100$, who will go through the trouble and the small success rate, wouldn't it be easier to just steal the thing.
I see the logic... NOT
I would trust my customers today with transactions above 10 000$ and 0 confirmations, because I know where they live.
For transactions of 50-100$, who will go through the trouble and the small success rate, wouldn't it be easier to just steal the thing.
Not an original topic, but there is a reason why it keeps coming up.
No matter how much we love BTC, confirmations take way too long!
"Transactions are instant, and full confirmation is usually done in under 1 hour... both of which are better than credit cards."
Merchants complete your sale 'almost instantly' with credit cards, and sometimes make you wait almost an hour when paying with BTC, which really does not work well in the real world.... better point of sale options are needed ASAP.
No matter how much we love BTC, confirmations take way too long!
"Transactions are instant, and full confirmation is usually done in under 1 hour... both of which are better than credit cards."
Merchants complete your sale 'almost instantly' with credit cards, and sometimes make you wait almost an hour when paying with BTC, which really does not work well in the real world.... better point of sale options are needed ASAP.
Who the heck makes you wait an hour? I've done several in person transactions with bitcoin and I got my coin, they got their stuff, we both left right away.
Unless you're running a super computer in your back pocket linked up to all the satellites in space, and every computer on the planet, I don't think your android is going to scam me of $15.
What is the average time for 1 confirmation? 15-30 minutes ? That isn't exactly terrible considering a lot of banks have a 3 business day policy...
Yes. Actually, 1st confirmation usually is around 10 mins based on my experience.
What is the average time for 1 confirmation? 15-30 minutes ? That isn't exactly terrible considering a lot of banks have a 3 business day policy...
Why are you complaining? International money transfer takes much longer.
because the OP thinks thinks that credit cards are different. which they arnt. bitcoins are faster than credit cards, the only difference is that it requires that extra layer (a third party to insure signed transactions).
Ugh, yep, it's so annoying when people complain about this. They obviously have no idea how either credit cards work or bitcoins and their payment processors. This isnt a problem at all.
Agree, btc taking too long. But everyone seems to only like BTC for some reason..
For a reason that bitcoin is a cradle of the crypto currency and so far itis the best of them.
Maybe sometimes confirmations take a bit long so perhaps this is some issue for shops accepting bitcoin but so far those merchants who accepted bitcoin are not complaining at all or I missed something :-)
Agree, btc taking too long. But everyone seems to only like BTC for some reason..
i dont see a problem here. every brick and mortar store can accept btc for a sale of a 40 USD jeans without waiting 10 minutes or longer.
and for online business: payment channels and more will the invented with zero waiting.
(and of course you can use Litecoin, its faster
)
and for online business: payment channels and more will the invented with zero waiting.
(and of course you can use Litecoin, its faster
) 
Not an original topic, but there is a reason why it keeps coming up.
No matter how much we love BTC, confirmations take way too long!
"Transactions are instant, and full confirmation is usually done in under 1 hour... both of which are better than credit cards."
Merchants complete your sale 'almost instantly' with credit cards, and sometimes make you wait almost an hour when paying with BTC, which really does not work well in the real world.... better point of sale options are needed ASAP.
As mentioned, payment processors is the way to settle this. Payment processors "solve" two of the "traditional problems" that I see with only relying on the blockchain: Point-of-Sale "speed" (i.e. a check to see sufficient funds or credit in order to process a sale), and the more pressing issue of "volume" (it'd be a continuous cycle of expansion to modify the blockchain to accept the amount of transactions that are done in credit/debit form).No matter how much we love BTC, confirmations take way too long!
"Transactions are instant, and full confirmation is usually done in under 1 hour... both of which are better than credit cards."
Merchants complete your sale 'almost instantly' with credit cards, and sometimes make you wait almost an hour when paying with BTC, which really does not work well in the real world.... better point of sale options are needed ASAP.
However, the idea of having an intermediary processing a majority of the funds and in essence functioning as a bank of some sort is a vast decry from the tenets of bitcoin.
[I honestly feel that as bitcoin gains further traction and usage, some places will need to mitigate the risk of micro-transactions. And this will involve more places adopting a model in which you will need to keep your funds in an online wallet in order for them to be readily accessible. Could you imagine Coinbase being the next "Visa/Mastercard" and having the supporting infrastructure and risk mitigation to support the amount of transactions that are currently performed on a daily basis?]
Why are you complaining? International money transfer takes much longer.
because the OP thinks thinks that credit cards are different. which they arnt. bitcoins are faster than credit cards, the only difference is that it requires that extra layer (a third party to insure signed transactions).
if the OP only wants to accept confirmed tx's this is where a bitcoin debit service can easily come in. where people use a service they pre-deposit small daily spend amounts (to get pre confirmed) and then they can spend instantly. (research offchain tx's much like mtgox codes or btc-e codes work to send between members)
like i said for small daily spend amounts offchain tx's solve this problem. as it gives trust to the merchantof receiving funds (because the funds are pre-locked in and confirmed) and because its small amounts, it gives consumers trust of the third party service ( i never recommend throwing your entire hoard into third parties)
Why are you complaining? International money transfer takes much longer.
I don't think there is an option is everyone wants fast approvals then a 3rd party is prob the only way to achieve that.
well if the third party insures payments, like bitpay did. otherwise the merchant can just do it himself, accept unconfirmed payments at whatever rate he chooses to then cash out later at localbitcoins, etc.
I don't think there is an option is everyone wants fast approvals then a 3rd party is prob the only way to achieve that.
firstly credit/debit cards.
when in a shop and you swipe your card and type pin number in.. the money does not move..
in actual fact the is that the merchant services simply does a balance check and gets a customer to authorise a movement of funds. much like signing a transaction.. well exactly like signing a transaction.
if someone went straight to an atm and checked their balance they usually see
total balance: XXX
available balance: XX
this available balance is what would be left to spend. but the account still shows the unconfirmed money(money has not moved) in the total balance, because it has not been confirmed yet. just authorised to be moved later
sometimes this takes up to 24 hours to confirm(actually make the total balance decrease) and then still 3 month-6 month to be able to reverse.
in short all the merchant is doing is accepting an signed transaction, and trusting the payment network to confirm(move the funds) later. as ofcourse the payment system is insuring payments as long as there is a signature or correct pin.
enjoy
when in a shop and you swipe your card and type pin number in.. the money does not move..
in actual fact the
if someone went straight to an atm and checked their balance they usually see
total balance: XXX
available balance: XX
this available balance is what would be left to spend. but the account still shows the unconfirmed money(money has not moved) in the total balance, because it has not been confirmed yet. just authorised to be moved later
sometimes this takes up to 24 hours to confirm(actually make the total balance decrease) and then still 3 month-6 month to be able to reverse.
in short all the merchant is doing is accepting an signed transaction, and trusting the payment network to confirm(move the funds) later. as ofcourse the payment system is insuring payments as long as there is a signature or correct pin.
enjoy
For most of things its not relevant.
You don't buy something in an online store and hope it will be shipped in less than 1 hour, for example.
You don't buy something in an online store and hope it will be shipped in less than 1 hour, for example.
It IS relevant when you have only 2 blocks created in 40 minutes (like right now) and a merchant that requires at least 3 or 4 confirmations.
The Bitcoin confirmation time is about protecting from double spends. So 1 confirmation means it's unlikely the transaction could be reversed as in you would need a hell of a lot of mining power. 6 confirmations and you're transaction is pretty solid.
So a merchant would generally only wait for confirmations for large transactions. For small transactions it is enough to detect the transaction is in the network, i.e. more or less instant.
Why deal with bitcoin at all? This is the risk or gamble you take. You use payment processors for safety as well. Are you really going to just send your money to some random company? What happens when you dont get the item that you paid for?
Sending large sums to random companies is not a good idea, but for established companies like Dell it is not a good idea for them to rip off customers. They'd lose in the end.
Yes but part of the appeal of crypto is you don't have to use payment processor.
If going to have the money flow through a third party anyway, why deal with the volatility?
It is probably too late to change it, but my guess is it won't be bitcoin that is used for transactions where time is a factor.
Vast majority of web purchases it probably isn't an issue.
If going to have the money flow through a third party anyway, why deal with the volatility?
It is probably too late to change it, but my guess is it won't be bitcoin that is used for transactions where time is a factor.
Vast majority of web purchases it probably isn't an issue.
Why deal with bitcoin at all? This is the risk or gamble you take. You use payment processors for safety as well. Are you really going to just send your money to some random company? What happens when you dont get the item that you paid for?
no,I don't think so! When comparing with wire transfer, It only takes 1 hours to get confirmed.There is no charge back for merchants which is different from credit card and many other payments methods. The merchants are happy to provide BTC payment.
When you start using third party payment processors chargebacks are possible - the third party can decide to not pay the merchant, just like credit card processors can and do.
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