Topic: What do businesses and customers actually need from digital currency? (Read 2278 times)
September 11, 2011, 05:46:16 PM
With services such as Bit-Pay now in existence, Bitcoin can simply be used as a monetary medium/vehicle than an actual currency; this means there's no excuse for any business owner not to accept Bitcoin! It's free money! (Well, you still have to provide your product/service.)
September 11, 2011, 05:36:22 AM
The ability to include a short message with a transaction. The sheer amount of unnecessary back-and-forth that people have had to do because of the lack of this simple feature is mind-boggling.
September 11, 2011, 05:17:01 AM
Can you, as a business owner list at least one BTC feature, that helps you to start using it daily?
Price stability or a decently priced futures market (I'll just cope with an options market).*
Can you, as a consumer (customer) write down a feature you must have, so you can actually use bitcoins in every day life?
Nothing**
* I would like the protocol to be able to carry miscellaneous "meta data" for a transaction. To allow more "transparency" and source verification for specific transactions if warranted. e..g Payment for goods. (Order Number, Name, etc..).
** I lied. More buying choice and a thousand more competitors to the Silk Road.
September 11, 2011, 04:24:30 AM
The one business I'm involved in might have some use for bitcoin.
What would be moderately useful would be an EU-based trusted third party that would process payments in BTC and then wire the payments (in EUR) over SEPA.
What would be EXTREMELY useful would be a US-based trusted third party that would take payments in BTC and issue (USD-denominated) cheques drawn on US banks (so that the cheque numbers could be used to make "electronic cheque" payments to US vendors who only accept them). Doing business with US companies is major PITA without a US bank account.
What would be moderately useful would be an EU-based trusted third party that would process payments in BTC and then wire the payments (in EUR) over SEPA.
What would be EXTREMELY useful would be a US-based trusted third party that would take payments in BTC and issue (USD-denominated) cheques drawn on US banks (so that the cheque numbers could be used to make "electronic cheque" payments to US vendors who only accept them). Doing business with US companies is major PITA without a US bank account.
September 11, 2011, 03:36:59 AM
Tradehill and MtGox should both take cash directly via local banks like exchangebitcoins.com does. Dwolla should be discouraged for any transactions- it only exacerbates the problems with value fluctuations because it is so incredibly time-consuming and inefficient.
What kills a business is lack of CASH FLOW. If you can't define this term, don't make any smart-ass comments on my post because you don't "get it".
What kills a business is lack of CASH FLOW. If you can't define this term, don't make any smart-ass comments on my post because you don't "get it".
TradeHill and MtGox have both run into problems with trying to accept cash deposits through local banks - TradeHill in Australia and MtGox in France. Australia has a banking system which transfers funds rapidly but it has very tight AML and counter-terrorism financing laws. They have to identify their customers to their bank or risk their account being frozen without notice.
I'm sure that the exchanges realise that the amount of time and effort it takes people to get funds into and out of their exchange accounts is hurting their business, but so far no-one seems to have found a simple way for them to make the process faster without running into problems with local laws somewhere.
September 11, 2011, 03:18:26 AM
There is a lot of theory on this thread and not much substance. I sell drugs for bitcoins:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/valium-xanax-testosterone-viagra-clenbuterol-no-prescription-no-rx-24196
I will tell you what the problem is NOW for people who are actually doing bitcoin transactions daily. If this currency does not stabilize it will kill itself as a medium of exchange. As a merchant, nothing else matters much. If a customer buys BTC to pay me, and suddenly they don't have enough money to complete the transaction they get fucking pissed. I get fucking pissed.
Dwolla is probably the worst offender because of the time it takes to get money turned into coins. Because the exchanges do not support a fast transfer (except exchangebitcoins.com) they are also part of the problem.
Don't get me wrong, these things can be fixed. Tradehill and MtGox should both take cash directly via local banks like exchangebitcoins.com does. Dwolla should be discouraged for any transactions- it only exacerbates the problems with value fluctuations because it is so incredibly time-consuming and inefficient.
What kills a business is lack of CASH FLOW. If you can't define this term, don't make any smart-ass comments on my post because you don't "get it".
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/valium-xanax-testosterone-viagra-clenbuterol-no-prescription-no-rx-24196
I will tell you what the problem is NOW for people who are actually doing bitcoin transactions daily. If this currency does not stabilize it will kill itself as a medium of exchange. As a merchant, nothing else matters much. If a customer buys BTC to pay me, and suddenly they don't have enough money to complete the transaction they get fucking pissed. I get fucking pissed.
Dwolla is probably the worst offender because of the time it takes to get money turned into coins. Because the exchanges do not support a fast transfer (except exchangebitcoins.com) they are also part of the problem.
Don't get me wrong, these things can be fixed. Tradehill and MtGox should both take cash directly via local banks like exchangebitcoins.com does. Dwolla should be discouraged for any transactions- it only exacerbates the problems with value fluctuations because it is so incredibly time-consuming and inefficient.
What kills a business is lack of CASH FLOW. If you can't define this term, don't make any smart-ass comments on my post because you don't "get it".
September 11, 2011, 02:15:06 AM
Reliability and Stability.
As a business owner I am considering taking bitcoin donations to help fund a space program I am currently under taking. However, with the wild fluctuations in pricing I'm concerned that donors will have a conceived value affixed to their generosity only to have it quashed in 3 hours when their donations net a fraction of the value they thought they were giving.
I'm also concerned about the reliability of transfers as I seem to see stories about people losing their coins, being hacked, or (potentially) being at the whims of the blockchain/miners.
Maybe we need a centralized oversight committee or board to help stabilize pricing?
As a business owner I am considering taking bitcoin donations to help fund a space program I am currently under taking. However, with the wild fluctuations in pricing I'm concerned that donors will have a conceived value affixed to their generosity only to have it quashed in 3 hours when their donations net a fraction of the value they thought they were giving.
I'm also concerned about the reliability of transfers as I seem to see stories about people losing their coins, being hacked, or (potentially) being at the whims of the blockchain/miners.
Maybe we need a centralized oversight committee or board to help stabilize pricing?
September 09, 2011, 01:19:37 PM
1) simple transaction export to csv - bookkeeping
My GUI has had this for months... you can filter and export transactions, addresses, whatever you wantEasy Point of Sale transaction.
Merchant types price into a smartphone, customer easily scans the price and clicks "pay".
With a confirmation sent to the merchant when it goes through.
That would make Bitcoin easier to use than a credit card. And all you need is your phone.
Merchant types price into a smartphone, customer easily scans the price and clicks "pay".
With a confirmation sent to the merchant when it goes through.
That would make Bitcoin easier to use than a credit card. And all you need is your phone.
This already exists, one of the Android wallets has NFC support. There are very few devices to test it with, though, so currently the preference seems to be QR codes.
September 08, 2011, 04:51:47 PM
Easy Point of Sale transaction.
Merchant types price into a smartphone, customer easily scans the price and clicks "pay".
With a confirmation sent to the merchant when it goes through.
That would make Bitcoin easier to use than a credit card. And all you need is your phone.
Merchant types price into a smartphone, customer easily scans the price and clicks "pay".
With a confirmation sent to the merchant when it goes through.
That would make Bitcoin easier to use than a credit card. And all you need is your phone.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication
http://www.itproportal.com/2011/07/31/apple-paypal-partnership-nfc-iphone-5-on-cards/
"Speaking of a potential Apple-PayPal deal at an AIIA event in Sidney, Rod Farmer, co-founder of Mobile Experience, claimed the partnership would offer "the shortest path between two points for a consumer in terms of spending. You don't have to worry about merchant banks [and] you don't have to worry about the network ... there are fewer mouths to feed, there are fewer existing relationships that need to be altered,"
September 08, 2011, 04:41:39 PM
Easy Point of Sale transaction.
Merchant types price into a smartphone, customer easily scans the price and clicks "pay".
With a confirmation sent to the merchant when it goes through.
That would make Bitcoin easier to use than a credit card. And all you need is your phone.
Merchant types price into a smartphone, customer easily scans the price and clicks "pay".
With a confirmation sent to the merchant when it goes through.
That would make Bitcoin easier to use than a credit card. And all you need is your phone.
September 08, 2011, 02:22:18 PM
September 08, 2011, 12:54:42 PM
Analysis of the block chain does support the accusation of hoarding, so I wouldn't argue that point, however - what do you think would encourage spending over hoarding? What does the community need to be doing to make people open their wallets?
Not what you want to hear, I know, but: A new coin that is not deflationary and that does not need silly dot-shifting to stay alive in the long run.
This is the same as saying "stable value," something I also would like to see. How do we judge value? Perhaps we can compare it to a basket of commodities. The more difficult problem is how to fix the value of a currency without intervention by a centralized intermediary. Any ideas?
September 08, 2011, 12:35:52 PM
Wholesalers
September 08, 2011, 03:54:49 AM
Analysis of the block chain does support the accusation of hoarding, so I wouldn't argue that point, however - what do you think would encourage spending over hoarding? What does the community need to be doing to make people open their wallets?
Not what you want to hear, I know, but: A new coin that is not deflationary and that does not need silly dot-shifting to stay alive in the long run.
September 08, 2011, 03:33:15 AM
8) reserved *coin "tab" - N amount of funds reserved for merchant X by client Y
This is not my original idea but a simplified version of Dibbs idea he posted in another forum. For some reason no one could understand his idea :)
Example: If I frequent your website, shop, cafe etc, I can open a reserved *coin "tab" with you. Tab, where shop owner (you) can not spend funds unless I approve the transactions. Speeds up the checkout process. No need to wait for 6 confirmation. This is a bit like temporary joint account (see #3)
9) *coin "discount" or bonus - You, as a shop owner can give me a "discount" on your products and services if I run a *coin "tab" in your shop by adding N amount of *coin to my "tab" - I can not spend the "bonus" nowhere else but in your store.
Lets say I have a tab for 10, I buy something for 5 and you give me a discount on that purchase of 1. After the transaction for 5, my remaining tab with you is 6 (10-5+1)
You keep me coming back :)
10) built on 8 and 9 - virtua prepayd cift card for current or new customers (open a tab, get the discount)
11) *coin client support for open source plugins (look previous features) No need to build them all int to a client if it can support plugins.
This is not my original idea but a simplified version of Dibbs idea he posted in another forum. For some reason no one could understand his idea :)
Example: If I frequent your website, shop, cafe etc, I can open a reserved *coin "tab" with you. Tab, where shop owner (you) can not spend funds unless I approve the transactions. Speeds up the checkout process. No need to wait for 6 confirmation. This is a bit like temporary joint account (see #3)
9) *coin "discount" or bonus - You, as a shop owner can give me a "discount" on your products and services if I run a *coin "tab" in your shop by adding N amount of *coin to my "tab" - I can not spend the "bonus" nowhere else but in your store.
Lets say I have a tab for 10, I buy something for 5 and you give me a discount on that purchase of 1. After the transaction for 5, my remaining tab with you is 6 (10-5+1)
You keep me coming back :)
10) built on 8 and 9 - virtua prepayd cift card for current or new customers (open a tab, get the discount)
11) *coin client support for open source plugins (look previous features) No need to build them all int to a client if it can support plugins.
September 07, 2011, 08:11:54 AM
7) Stop hoarding and start spending
I know, this is not a new feature per se but it will get things moving.
So you do not misunderstand, "spending" is not "selling for fiat currency".
I know, this is not a new feature per se but it will get things moving.
So you do not misunderstand, "spending" is not "selling for fiat currency".
Analysis of the block chain does support the accusation of hoarding, so I wouldn't argue that point, however - what do you think would encourage spending over hoarding? What does the community need to be doing to make people open their wallets?
September 07, 2011, 07:34:19 AM
7) Stop hoarding and start spending
I know, this is not a new feature per se but it will get things moving.
So you do not misunderstand, "spending" is not "selling for fiat currency".
I know, this is not a new feature per se but it will get things moving.
So you do not misunderstand, "spending" is not "selling for fiat currency".
September 07, 2011, 06:42:53 AM
5) Fast transaction confirmation - future target: same speed (or better) as credit and debit card payments. I can not cave customers hanging around at the counter for 10+ minutes.
I don't know why this comes up on a regular basis.
0 confirmations are ok for your sandwich, takes 1 second, and a double spend attack is much more difficult than using a stolen credit card or just doing a chargeback.
6+ confirmations when you buy a car/house/airplane/whatever - the customer can wait in this case
September 07, 2011, 06:28:26 AM
1) Medium of exchange
2) Store of value
2) Store of value
Can you describe in more detail?
September 07, 2011, 06:27:14 AM
6) rechargeable smart card (ICC) for bitcoins. Card can be read, charged and loaded with any ICC reader and your standard bitcoin client software.
(this is NOT a copy of your wallet on a USB stick)
(this is NOT a copy of your wallet on a USB stick)
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