Bitcoin Forum

Quietly without announcement they removed cash deposit option for US customers, other countries still can deposit cash

Of course they did. It's the same reason Kraken, Coinsetter et al haven't launched. They are all scared to death of the US government - and rightly so - a few million of VC investment is not going to shield you from a DHS seizure.  Bitcoin is an awesome technology, but it disrupts one of the most fundamental tools of Western government; money. They're not going to let that happen without a fight.

It seems that the USA govt is slowly squeezing and tightening the noose on Bitcoin. :(

can't they just locate servers  and bank accounts off shore and use something other than a . com TLD? what could dhs do then?

This.

An attitude that will get BTC nowhere.

If you can't beat them, join them.

No is the short answer. Not if you want any legitimacy and longevity. Do you think PayPal founder Elon Musk would be as wealthy as he is or if PayPal would have lasted as long as it has if he'd moved PayPal offshore to avoid US regulation? They (The US government) had Kim DotCom's entire MegaUpload operation terminated... and the guy was living in New Zealand. My point is that you can't work against them (the US or pretty much any Western Government), or at least not for long - and instead you need to work with them (and of course, this costs money and limits your options... E.g. no more cash deposits).

It's a painful and bureaucratic situation, but challenging the status-quo always is.  

megaupload and PayPal are/were both .com tld's, both within the claimed jurisdiction of the USG.

legitimacy? longevity?

bitcoin has never been concerned with the former and has never been worried about the latter.

bitcoin has been concerned with decentralization. and that just might mean leaving the us behind and going offshore with bank accounts and servers and abandoning the verisign controlled tld's.

This argument often comes up... but Bitcoin is not what most of the world transacts in - not yet anyway. Until that day comes, you'll be using your Pounds, Euros, Dollars, Yuan etc and that means you need somewhere to change from one to the other. And that's where "they" get you.

No government will wage an active campaign against Bitcoin the technology, they don't need to. They just wage war on the arterial routes that give Bitcoin its value; the exchanges and money service businesses that convert your BTC into something you can use to buy your Bottle of Pepsi at the local 7/11.  And for the record, before someone says "yay, everyone can go OTC" - they won't. The average person doesn't want the hassle or uncertainty of interacting with strangers. Sure, a few will - it's a bell curve - but the majority won't.

Humans generally want an easy and automated life. Like it or not, Visa/Mastercard and to a degree the monolithic banking system currently provide that.

We are actually just doing system maintenance and preparing to relaunch on Monday.   8)

Huzzah!

That shut me up :)

Phew, i was worried for a second there.

hmm, sounds bad. .  time for the american people to realise that their greatest enemy may not necessarily be in the "middle-east" but quite possible in D.C.

maybe an announcement or something on the front page would have been nice

but thank you for the response

We did make an announcement on the front page of bitinstant.com as well as announced this on Twitter @bitinstanthelp

I realize the current site design could be better to bring these issues to the forefront.  However, new.bitinstant.com is just around the corner...  :D

whoever uses cash to bitcoin address: were you asked by zipzap to fax them copy of id?

Just noticed that as well.

Horray to BitInstant! Thanks for this update

I'm in the process of creating my account but when it came down to verifying my ID the creepiest thing occurred. It asked me questions about my pops! It asked me to clarify what year he was born. First of all how the hell does BitInstant know my pops name!?  :o

Nope.

These types of questions are quite normal during basic verification when doing all types financial transactions.  You shouldn't be alarmed.

Oh. Well in that case, can you help me complete verifying my ID? I answered all questions correct and I got denied every single time. Don't know why. Now I have a message stating for me to try again in a week for failing to verify my ID too many times.

I have the same issue with my own personal account and I'm working with the devs to understand what might be causing this problem.  I'm just as excited as you to see it fixed.  Thanks for your patience with this new beta.  :)

I see. Well then I guess I'll try again in a week as I was told, but I'll be sad to see everyone use the new launch but me  :-\ ha ha!

If I can get you a fix earlier I'll let you know.  ;)

Thanks!  ;D

The new design is sooo much better! Well done!

So now the twitter link just says that you are still down for the time being.   Should we look into that too much? Does that mean it won't be up on Monday or is just weekend downtime still the plan?

Today is still Sunday.  Monday is coming soon.  I swear.  :)

Good to hear it's not another regulatory action.

Course it might be a good idea to let people know in advance.

today is Monday still cash deposit option is not available

We're working to bring back this functionality ASAP.  Thanks for your patience.

We're working to bring back this functionality ASAP.  Thanks for your patience.

OK.Keep spinning fairy tales stories that is what they pay you for

It's only been a couple days, relax bro!

Some accounts already have access to the new site and we will be inviting more users on an as needed basis.

every time BTC crashes Bitinstant doing maintenance LOL
yes new website design will make a difference LOL

From http://blog.bitinstant.com/

"Cash Deposits are currently down on BitInstant as we make steps to transition to our new website.

We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused and are working as quickly as possible to reenable this feature.

People have expressed concern that this benefits BitInstant in some way. On the contrary, BitInstant relies on customer transactions, so downtime only hurts us and we are therefore working as quickly as possible to reengage cash deposits.

We will strive to provide future notice for similar situations as they arise in the future to help you better plan your Bitcoin purchases. We apologize for the inconvenience and will post a notice as soon as we're up and running with cash deposits.

Also, stay tuned for an introduction to our new website and its great features! We think it will be worth the wait and appreciate your patience!"

Would that be THIS Monday? That is, TODAY, Monday 10, 2013? You know, the day that is already almost over. Or perhaps some unspecified "Monday" in the future?

An "As needed basis"?!?! WTF. As needed by who? Some of your customers are perhaps more valuable? Or maybe more customers will be needed once the exchange rate goes back up...

What a a joke!

[edit] for punctuation

No, that can't be it... didn't you see the quote from the website?  ::)

"People have expressed concern that this benefits BitInstant in some way. On the contrary, BitInstant relies on customer transactions, so downtime only hurts us and we are therefore working as quickly as possible to reengage cash deposits."

ROFL!

The new layout looks great, but it's still not working.   Getting a 'having issues with one of our partners' type note.   

Also, small thing... you spelled patience as 'patients' on the front page. 

 :)

The site looks good but there are a few annoyances which detract from the improvements:

Identity verification questionnaire is highly annoying. I don't have the birth months and years of my entire extended family memorized or easily available.

The username and password fields on the login form are obfuscated somehow so that LastPass doesn't automatically recognize them.

We're happy to announce that our new website is now live and cash deposits are turned back on! Again, we apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience. Things don't always run smoothly when implementing new technology with third-party providers involved, so thanks for standing by!

Good to hear that it's up and running again. Any luck on verification of ID's?

What verification of ID's?!

We're working very close with the dev team to resolve any issues with specific users having problems with verification.

You'll know about this soon enough.

Alright. Thanks!

@URSAY
What about bringing back exchanges? BTC-e and Bitstamp?

We are working to bring back full functionality.  The site JUST launched so we have a number of pressing issues to work thru.  Thanks for your patience as we work to upgrade the customer experience.

Who needs bitinstant?

Find someone local and pay them cash.

Thanks, the new layout is great, I just wanted to make sure that the functionality will only get better. ;)

That does NOT sound good. But after all this CRAP, BitInstant is by far my last resort anyway.

When will companies learn they need to just be up front with their customers? It's particularly important when one's audience is for the most part "smarter than the average bear".

Yet another non-answer from the BitInstant "support team". Have y'all considered a career in politics?

Just got the Please

"We are experiencing problems verifying your identity, please try again later."

Nice... Seems without verification ANY deposit amount exceeds my limits? WTF


I know, I know... the new site "will be worth the wait and appreciate your patience" whatever the heck that means!

Guys,

This is a brand new website with improved functionality.  We've listened to your suggestions and worked really hard to bring you new features.  We launched this morning and we're now trying to correct any outstanding issues and bring all functionality back online.  I'm sorry that some of you are having issues with your orders.  We're working hard to correct those issues.

Please try to help us by staying calm and respectful, not logging duplicate issues, and providing your cs rep with any info that they may need when they ask for it.

Thanks for your consideration during this very busy time.

Please be patient Bitinstant is working hard to complete transition to PRISM program ...

Still getting "We are experiencing problems with one of our partners, please try again later." when I click 'continue as guest.' after all information (name, BTC address, birthday, etc.) has been entered.   All information is correct so I'm not sure what the glitch is on my end.   

 :)

This works but can take a while depending where in the world you're at. Of course 1st world nations are most likely to have the most bitcoin in circulation, but even withing a 1st world nation certain areas lack interest in the currency and therefore one will have to go through great lengths to even get a single sale. That's where BitInstant's quick service comes in handy.

Just got the Please


Welcome to the club gentlemen!  8)

I can take your cash deposits on localbitcoin through a major bank. PM me if you're interested.

Has anyone been able to get a successful transaction through the Bitinstant site yet?

Would be nice to get the old version back as an option while they are working on the 'Beta.' 

 :)

old.bitinstant.com

I love how when deposits go away for weekend maintenance the "experts" come in and confidently spout off their baseless theories. lol 

still nothing.. deposited money yesterday at 2pm.... it is now exactly 28 hours and still no BTC in my wallet

bitinstant? more like biteternity, bitforever, bitmaybetomorrow.....

thanks for the reply.   Too bad the old site doesn't have the cash option up either though. 

 :)

I passed verification fairly easily. The problem is (again like last time) that BitInstant has not delivered my payment via PayPal.

Is it me, or is it everytime I go to them for my conversion I always end up having troubles?

I never had these kinds of troubles with FastCash4BitCoins.

BitInstant motto on their new site is: BitInstant - Time is Money

28 hours??? that is highly concerning, I may have to reconsider using them :|

they always used to be quite timely

1 Day Later and still nothing.

According to their website, if they screw up, the transfer is without fees.

http://support.bitinstant.com/customer/portal/articles/1083890-what-service-does-bitinstant-provide-

"We are an agent of the exchanges. So, when you pay us, you have effectively paid the exchange. If we screw up and fail to deliver on time, we will investigate and we will always refund our fees."

Make that 40+ hours

Bitinstant support clown does not respond to this thread anymore ... i wonder why

If we are unable to respond to your posts immediately then we are probably working on communicating thru the support channel at support.bitinstant.com or we are actually fixing the issues.

Hey Ursay can you take a look at my account and see whats going on??

username is dankie44

Zipzap was approved 2 days ago... still no BTC

You'll want to log your issue at support.bitinstant.com so we can work on providing you with a solution.

You may also want to check the module that checks if a bank account is valid (via ACH option) as it is broken and spits out an error even when the account is entirely valid.

I am still waiting on a transfer that went through zipzap on tuesday.  On bitinstant, I see that there have been seemingly nonstop attempted and failed transfers to my gox account since.  I informed support on tuesday who told me I was at the front of the line but have heard nothing since.  Really annoying.

This is what i get


06/13/13 18:38   New Order   68bfc988-2625-4f26-9e46-1eaeb8860632
06/13/13 18:38   MtGox tranfer error   1f241c96-9376-41f1-aa81-449e9e256e9c
06/13/13 18:38   MtGox tranfer error   1d8aa668-f2b3-42f6-9d7a-93881a44879c
06/13/13 18:38   MtGox tranfer error   25e49fbb-4d74-450e-8035-7a53bc9fc0fe
06/13/13 18:38   MtGox tranfer error   d56ac3f0-9eb3-4d25-8e3f-a989b6e6eb8c
06/13/13 18:38   MtGox tranfer error   9553c1de-0ea0-46b7-87ec-cb556e092c90
06/13/13 18:38   MtGox tranfer error   e5da61ac-fe19-40cb-a45a-6322fe5eaace
06/13/13 18:38   MtGox tranfer error   9d88de5c-2cd7-4bda-a2bb-79c29288493d
06/13/13 18:38   MtGox tranfer error   73a49edc-8f11-4c93-9cc5-8282007b4912
06/13/13 18:38   MtGox tranfer error   6b360ea3-2813-40d5-931e-82190d405c2c

But whats weird is for the destination part i get:
Destination Acct #   Amount requested exceeds your per-transaction cash limit!

I just signed up, and only deposited 200 bucks...
so I have no clue...

Did that, and all i get is please wait, " we are in beta stage"

Day 2 has come and gone....still nothing.

Day 3...still nothing.

BitInstant you may as well give everyone their transaction without fees to make up for these (repeating) issues.

 

We are currently processing back logged orders. 

For many of you who have not received your orders still it may be due to customer error.  We will be contacting users with these types of issues and asking for valid account #s or btc addresses so we can continue to process your order.

I am curious as to the extent of the backlog.

Without really saying much (in terms of USD or BTC) how many orders are in the backlog?

10? 20? 200?

After 3 days, i finally get a notice saying

Thank you for using BitInstant!

This email is to notify you that while received your payment successfully, we have encountered an error while trying to process your transaction at Jun 11 2013 20:51:45, meaning your order has currently failed.

Transaction ID: 2566d9e4-ac6d-4a12-8234-6dd75fbf15b4

Gee, thanks.. Didn't notice... But seriously it took 3 days for you guys to send a confirmation email saying its not working? An email out the first hour would've been nice, and an updated email every 24 hours is not so farfetched is it?

I better not get any fees associated with this transaction, because 3 days? Maybe 4? since i have not even received anything..

Hoping for the best

Danny

This has been discussed by Gareth already...

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=128314.7400

Are new transactions still being taken?   I'm still getting the 'having problems with our partners' message.   I'm trying to process this as a guest.   Just want to make sure that it's a site issue and not that I'm entering something incorrectly.   

 :)

Most orders are processing normally.

The problems with partner error is an issue that the dev team is looking into.

This is all pretty standard for bitinstant - has been for a couple years now.

If you're still using them, you're either a total noob or very stupid. Either way, STOP USING THEM!!!

Two weeks later same sh1t: We are experiencing problems with one of our partners, please try again later.

Day 6.  Nothing.

Bitinstant you suck ass!

Danny

 I'm tired of seeing all these impatient posts complaining, if you don't like the service don't use it. It's rather simple. I don't think it's fair to rage at the people trying to help, it isn't necessarily their fault. Especially when a majority of the time it's on the user. I guess it shows the maturity/age level of the average person using bitinstant.

Wow generalizing everyone, what an intelligent way to look at things. Bitinstant is a great alternative to other exchanges. Not many/any? services have your coins in your wallet within an hour.  Most errors seem to be personal mistakes, i've personally never had a problem with bitinstant since they first started up, call it luck i guess. Although I’ve used them more than a few times. It's obviously not the best/cheapest way to get coins but it's fast and reliable for most people.




It would be nice to get an update on the "We are experiencing problems with one of our partners, please try again later." error, i've tried using Firefox,chrome, and IE. It apparently works for some people... ???

The dev team is working hard to correct issues regarding identity and general access.  I'm sorry we have been unable to give any meaningful response to these sorts of issues but we are well aware of them and we're working furiously to fix these problems.

Indeed.

Excuse me for being a noob and failing to see this. I humbly apologize for being their customer.

Sigh, Day 6 maybe 7....

I finally asked for a refund and am ignored by customer service for over 2 days.

Probably going to do the same. How does th refund process work? You go into a location and they give you cash back?

Danny

They are just doing it for themselves while the rest of the world goes on like normal.

I just tried re-verifying my ID on the new BitInstant site and was again denied access. I wasn't able to verify it a week ago because they were having problems verifying it despite the fact that I was answering all questions correct.

I was told to retry again in a week. A week has now gone by I tried again and now I'm told to retry later -.-

Is the cash deposit option gone again?

I was finally able to verify my identity. Cash Locations was available, but I could not send to my mtgox account. There was no bitcoin option :-(

Because MT.Gox shut down all USD transactions recently. They stated it was going to freeze any transaction dealing in USD for two weeks.

Still can't process as a guest.     Getting the 'having problems with one of our partners' message.

Hope this gets fixed. 

SEPA transfers also have been very slow recently: they officially state they can take "as much as 3 weeks" (which is ironic, considering that the whole point of SEPA itself is having 1-day transfers).

I cashed out from Mt. Gox (using bitcoins OFC) and fully moved to Bitinstant Bitstamp.

 :D  that wasn't smart

Day 12 or 13,

BitInstant has not gotten back to me after they failed to deliver and have asked for a refund (about a week ago), I believe they are waiting for me to tire out and therefore get to keep my money/BTC.

In the same boat... Still nothing.. Emailed them on friday and Sunday night.. still nothing
Asked for refund on both occasions, maybe the reason for no reply...

Danny

The development team is working on this issue.  Thanks for your patience.

I'm not sure I understand.  Is there a specific issue you asking about?

We are not trying to keep your money/btc.  Your issue is indeed logged and I'm terribly sorry we don't have a solution for you yet.  We are working on it.  Thanks.

I'm sorry that your order has not been fulfilled.  However, these types of posts do not allow me a choice to take any action as you provide no actionable info which will allow me to look up your issue.

Just got an email from you guys
Thank you for using BitInstant!

This email is to notify you that while we received your payment successfully, we have encountered an error while trying to process your transaction at Jun 11 2013 20:51:45, meaning your order has currently failed.

Transaction ID: 2cb36436-2a4f-4363-b181-db16a8cad8f5

If you contact support about this transaction, please reference this number so we can help you more quickly.

Your payment of 192.02, has NOT yet been transferred to bitcoin.

Our customer support agents have been informed of this problem and are currently investigating the problem. An agent will be in touch with you shortly regarding your account and what the next steps are. Until we understand what the issue with your transaction is, we suggest that you avoid creating further orders at BitInstant.com (in case you have entered account numbers incorrectly).

Again, we have automatically created a support ticket about this issue and you do not need to create one manually. We will contact you shortly to help resolve your issue.

Thank you for your patience,

The Bitinstant Team

can you please check on the reason for the hold up?? Can you check to see that my wallet address is correct and the error is not on my end?

let me know

thanks

Danny

Danny,

You listed your destination account number as, "Amount requested exceeds your per-transaction cash limit!".  Unfortunately that is not a valid account #.  Please check you email as a CS rep has already contacted you about this issue.  Also, I would suggest you continue to work with the CS rep in private rather then publicly post your order info.

Thanks.

Rofl stupid look-alikes... I meant Bitstamp -.-

I appreciate that you actually checked up on my order after two weeks... But I just dont understand how i could have typed "Amount requested exceeds your per-transaction cash limit!" for my account number. It just doesn't make sense.. either your input data values on your website is broken or something is screwed up. But whatever, I just hope my order gets resolved ASAP!

Danny

We have no control over the customer's destination account.  That is something that you input.  Regardless, we will work to correct your error and fulfill your order.  Thanks for your patience.

With all the respect, do you seriously believe the guy would type as a destination number "Amount requested exceeds your per-transaction cash limit!" ? Seriously ?

Yes, we see customer errors like this on a very regular basis.  We have no control over the destination field at the original time of order.

URSAY, when will y'all fix the error that y'all site is experiencing issues with one of your partners? If this would not come up then everything would be fine..

LOL SERIOUSLY!

Ursay if you guys see it all the time dont think you think there might be an error somewhere? Why would someone intentionally write the wrong address in the values to send their BTC somewhere else? As a consultant point of view, that might be something to look into..

Also I have sent a reply to someone that has contacted me about this issue, but i dont understand how it takes this long for you to change my BTC address... should be a simple copy and paste...

But after this is all said and done, it will be my last time using Bitinstant

Danny

Take a look at the post count on most users here needing help.  Many of these users are new to bitcoin and frequent mistakes are made.  The error is the customer inputs an invalid destination address which causes the order to fail.  We've seen ALL KINDS of destination accounts from customers.  We can troubleshoot our website but unfortunately I cannot troubleshoot individual users minds while they are placing their orders.

I guess your right... I am an idiot... When it says Destination, I usually put "Amount requested exceeds your per-transaction cash limit!"..

Danny

I never said you were an idiot.  All I am saying is humans make mistakes.  We do our best to help when mistakes are made.

Have not received but one e-mail in the last 8 days about my transaction, and it's just simply telling me that there was an issue, and that they are working super hard on it, and this was after sending multiple emails previously. But no details or time frame....  :-\ ... Sent my coins to the specified wallet address, I can see they were received at the exact wallet address I was supplied with, at the exact time bitinstant had requested they be sent. Now, I'm waiting for my PayPal to be funded as promised on 6/18. When can I expect my funds to be in my PayPal? soon? days? weeks? months??? Can someone give me a straightforward answer about this?

Hey you're 1 step ahead of me... I sent my coins 2 minutes after placing the order, I can see the trans on blockchain going to the address Bitinstant supplied, but the bitinstant site (the order details and event log) don't acknowledge receipt.  Checked and re-checked and re-checked the address 10 times, it precisely matches the one listed in order details.  Support ticket logged, no response other than the automated you've opened a ticket email. 

Where I stand right now: no cash received for my BTC and my BTC gone, and no acknowledgement from Bitinstant nor any answer to my support request. 

Please log your issues at support.bitinstant.com

I would be happy to provide a status update if you can provide a case #.

Thanks.

anyone in the US able to do any sort of transactions right now on BI?

or is the maintenance message kind of putting a stop to all that for the time being?

seriously bitinstant, how are you fucking this up

you have no competitors, yet...

 

You gave them your date of birth, your current address and your phone number.  The rest is simple public records.  The questions they asked me were equally as invasive.

p.s.  buying bitcoins with cash is (?still?) down.

I understand if they have to go down for a while but don't make a message saying it's going to be "temporarily" if it's going to be longer than half a day.

or make an announcement or something

seriously, O' Doyle I got a feeling you and your whole family is going down one day...

I tried to buy BTC using bitinstant today.  They asked about my pop too.  After that I learned I couldn't buy.  Got this message:


We’ve recently launched improved security measures related to our Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer processes. We have temporarily limited transactions in some locations, and we apologize for the inconvenience. Your home state is one of these locations.

Read more here: http://blog.bitinstant.com/blog/2013/6/30/website-update.html

We do not have an exact timeframe for reactivation of locations, but we will make an announcement via our website, blog, Facebook page and Twitter account as we enable new locations. We will also send you a notification email when we begin to process transactions for your state.

Again, we apologize for the inconvenience and will let you know as soon as something changes.
Have a great day!

Keishia
Customer Service Agent, BitInstant

Can we delete our BitInstant account if we wanted to?