Bitcoin Forum

Anyone here has any solid advice and heads up on the use of Bitcoin ATM. I'll be traveling to a new city and I'm learning there are a couple of Bitcoin ATM I'm the city. I'm looking to use one in the restaurant
where it is located in . I just want to know if there's any heads up or I should avoid it and pay in Bitcoin without using an ATM?
Thanks

It depends on where you are and the reputation of your surroundings. There are some basic facts that you should check when using a bitcoin ATM.

1. Try not to use it on night or use it in a place where it's not solitary. Bitcoin ATM can be an easy target for criminals.
2. Inspect the ATM that it's tempered or not.
3. Keep an eye on the transaction fees as well. Sometimes it can be insanely high.

Bitcoin ATMs tend to be expensive. Even more, depending on the country/region, they may ask KYC details (some for any amounts, some for greater than x, some not at all) and if you're not comfortable with that (and the fees), you may want to do your "homework" since the info on them tends to be available online (maybe even https://coinatmradar.com can be of help; the ATMs from my country have even reviews here on bitcointalk)

Both the methods of Bitcoin ATM or paying in Bitcoin are good and effective. But here are the security and privacy matters that come. In using Bitcoin security and privacy both matter and I think security more. How let's talk about it. When you use the Bitclon ATM one will be confirmed whether it will be located in public or separately. If you use it in public it may be possible that someone can easily scam you by saying 'I will help you use the ATM ' and in this way, they will keep all your access, in another case if it is located separately it may provide a good chance to criminals and theft to take your funds on gunpoint. However, this is not applicable everywhere as we are not aware of your location so that is why we giving you a general overview, Here I am giving you some tips when you are willing to use Bitcoin ATM please make sure of it.

1-Sometimes bitcoin ATMs charge a higher fee so look at it before doing any transaction.
2-As I told you Bitcoin ATMs are located in public places so do not let anyone to know your personal information.
3-Take precautions while using Bitcoin ATMs.
4-If you are using it at night take your friends with yourself.
5-If you have any problems contact the ATM operators on an immediate basis.

Hmm, that's weird I've never heard of it before as even on the ATM they can ask for the KYC but does it matter where are you processing your transaction, already reveals your identity in some aspects.

OP I think it better to check for the ATM's legitimacy by checking whether it's tempted or not.. As here in last week I had visited 2 3 cases of ATM scams where the ATM was tempered but that was obviously not a Bitcoin ATM. As per reports until now there was the involvement of the insider. I don't think still they will be able to take any sort of strict action against him due to his supporters back to him. I have never used any Bitcoin ATM still I think it would be interesting to use it at least once.

BEcasue transaction fees are high according to most of the responses it really isn't worth transacting with ATH most of the time, there are some good alternatives.

In some locations, Bitcoin ATM service providers are few and this has made the market less competitive. This has made most of these service providers charge high fees. Just as bank ATMs have technical or software issues, Bitcoin ATMs can also malfunction. So you can be disappointed by poor service. Don't forget that his service can expose you to scams. Your details can be recorded through your transaction. Using an ATM in an unsafe country might be dangerous. I will not use this service in my location because people see Bitcoin owners are millionaires.  Using the service in a public place might attract the attention of criminals.

The same as fiat-only atm's, but you don't see people talking about it when using one, any risk you bear when you use a fiat-only atm is the same when you use a BTC atm, if you don't do anything extra when withdrawing or sending fiat in an atm, do the same with BTC.
What do you even mean by this, why would someone want to help you operate an atm, even a 10 year old can use an atm.

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Op, what i think you should be concerned about is fees and kyc, some atm's may not request for kyc from you at all, while others may not require for kyc when you withdraw at first, but they might request for kyc if you go above their limit, or if they suspect you for one reason or another, read Stompix' interesting thread, they experieced something like that recently:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5464003.msg62726517#msg62726517

I prefer not to use ATMs at night, but it depends on the environment of the country where the OP is going and how much protection that country has for the citizens, like how much they provide security to such places. how much their police are active. If the ATM is in a public place then it might not be a problem to use it. I hesitate to use ATMs at night because there is no security or active police.

While the thieves are so much. Even on a bright day, thieves don't hesitate to loot people. In our country ATMs are near to banks and when a person goes there for any withdrawals the guards inform the thieves about the money the person carrying. Just to clarify, I am talking about fiat ATMs, not BTC ATMs because we don't have any BTC ATMs in our country.

I have only one suggestion for the OP, if he is using the BTC ATM for the first time then just watch a tutorial on YT and you will be ready to use it, don't trust on friends or relatives with your money, and don't even take them with you, to withdraw the cash either its from BTC ATMs or Fiat ATMs.

I recommend you to avoid Bitcoin ATM's for selling and buying of Bitcoin because they aren't secure at all and you can lose your money and other private information if someone has installed malware in those ATM machines.

The fees of those Bitcoin ATM's are so high which range from 5% to 15% or even more sometimes. It's always better to pay directedly with Bitcoin instead of going through the route of Bitcoin ATM's. I don't think that it's smart enough to pay that higher percentage of fees if you have direct Bitcoin payment option.

Some of those Bitcoin ATM's may require KYC information as well and that's not acceptable for many people who want to make transactions with privacy. Paying directly via Bitcoin wallet is the best choice in your case and I recommend you to pay directly with Bitcoin.

Yes, just don't. They're ridiculously expensive. In my place, they take a 7% commission when you're selling bitcoin. You become a target for criminals, and in case these two aren't discouraging enough, you're forced to submit KYC if you're going to cash out more than an upper limit. (in my place, that's about 500 EUR IIRC)

If the restaurant accepts bitcoin, then pay with bitcoin. But, obviously carry some real cash and electronic debit in case that won't work.

The most concern about using Bitcoin ATMs really are the fees just as said by everyone. But if you're for the experience or just a one time thing, you do it. Because who knows if you're going to like that and you'll just ignore the fees from it. They're convenient to use and much pretty treat the fee just the way it is with that kind of service. But there is a solution to this, you have your cash so you enjoy your journey on that city and at the same time, prepare your wallet with a bitcoin so you can pay directly with those restaurants or shops by just scanning it without having to pay a fee. And again, if you're just like to enjoy the whole experience from doing so, you just have to consider the fee if it hurts you or not.

Apart from the high fees, I think the major concern you should have is security and privacy. Since you’re new to the city, you should research the area to know if it’s safe. You can be too careful about safety, where there is money expect to find dangerous people may be lurking around with the intent to take it.

Bitcoin ATMs ask for kyc and phone number verification, there is also the possibility that hidden cameras are installed in the machine so if you’re a person who has been working hard to keep his bitcoin history hidden and private, using a Bitcoin ATM may not be something you would want.

Is there any reason why you want to use the ATM to pay when you order there? If they accept Bitcoin, maybe they also support LN. Have you asked about it? I believe using LN would be the better choice if, in the end, you will pay with Bitcoin anyway. It should be cheaper and faster compared to using the ATM. CMIIW.

So you are traveling and want to use the bitcoin atm to sell and withdraw fiat correct?

The issue with the atms is that most of them generally only let you buy BTC and not sell, at least the ones I used. Even if it has a sell feature then usually it’s unavailable.

Plus you got the issue with the high 10% fees. You really should just use an exchange, withdraw to bank account and pay with your credit card when you travel.

It is not smart idea. You don't have to rely on Bitcoin ATMs for spending your bitcoin.

A biggest reason is Bitcoin ATMs usually charge you very expensive fee that I am damn sure I will not use it if it is not my last option.

Alternatively, why you don't make your life more easier by cashing out your bitcoin, having cash in hands and use them when you are traveling. If you can use bitcoin directly, it is good. If you can not use bitcoin directly, cash is your golden choice.

[List] Where to spend Bitcoin? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5367983.0)

If you are still in love with Bitcoin ATMs, see.

https://coinatmradar.com/

Do you want to sell your coins for fiat?
Either way, don't *** it do it if you're in a foreign country, a neighboring city that's just a question of fees.

Somebody did mention my topic but let me do a TLDR for you
- I was short of Bitcoin, needed coins urgently, and was on vacation with no access to google auth or my second sim card
- tried to weasel my way out of KYC so tried to make small purchases
- wasted money on getting local fiat, wasted money on the ATM fee, wasted 20 or 40 euros on a taxi
- ended with that damn machine still asking for KYC, suspicious looks from the owners, and a feeling the cash ATM was tampered with maybe even the BATM

I don't know where you live and where you plan to travel, so if you're just sightseeing from Prague to Wien, then no problem, take the 5-7% fee into account and go for it, but if you're going to use some shady 3rd party ATM in some god forgotten city, DON'T!

Never used one in my life. If you need to withdraw why don't just order a Bitcoin debit card? The fees at the ATMs are so insanely high there's really no reason to use them, except for if you're desperate to stay anonymous/avoid KYC.

As someone who used BATM for years, I would suggest you to only use them as a last resort, when you don't have any other way to get cash needed. In majorify of cases you will have to go through KYC, pay exorbitantly high fees and maybe even get yourself in danger, especially if you are in unknown city.

BATM used to be more popular where we didn't have so many options to buy/sell bitcoin, but fortunately things changed, even though I have to say that I miss the experience if going to BATM, initiating transaction and then sitting in a nearby bar for a beer or two while waiting for transactions to get confirmed, it was sort of ritual for me. What I don't miss though are fees and KYC for higher amounts and those two things are the reason I didn't use one for ~3 years.

Then again, you might wanna try it with smaller amount just for the experience of doing it if they don't ask for KYC.

You would not totally avoid kyc in many BTC atm's, as has already being said in this topic, some of them may immediately request for kyc from you, while some would request kyc if you go above their limit or if they suspect you for one reason or the other. I have to agree that BTC atm's may only be useful if you have no other option but to use it, or if you just want to use it to have the experience, just as another user has said.

Also, if you are in a country that does not have the same currency as your home country, verify the exchange rate.

I was visiting Montreal and instead of looking at say preev.com to see the rate I looked at my phone which had USD <-> BTC and did the math in my head for US to CAD and got burned for about 5% because I could not take that extra 30 seconds to actually look what the exchange rate should be.

-Dave

You're not being specific on the city or country you're taking your journey to, this may be the first thing to consider when giving you a recommendation on the use of bitcoin ATM, though someone like me have never been able to use one before, but I've heard some of my colleagues who suggested there's much cost for using one in making a transaction, I don't think you should have much difficulties in using one, since everything will be operated by you under the instructions it has as functions and you follow the procedures, just as we operate the fiat ATM, am not saying it's the same as fiat but in procedures to operating one, they could be similar.

AFAIK you need to prepare if Bitcoin ATMs will charge higher fee than usual and you need to buy a sim card that can be used in the country you travel, I think you will not have any problem when you can accept both of them.

And last, you might be careful if there's a people around watching you in there.

I think there isn't anything extra to do when using an ATM. You use your card, cash out or send money and leave the place.

When using a BTC based ATM my biggest concern is the fees. Sometimes those ATMs charges extra fees on top of transaction fees. So if i am using a service worth 20$ and paying an extra 20$ for transaction fees and any extra fees or VAT they charges is not reasonable. I would like to use my fiat based credit card instead.

Generally, when one travels to another country, the same considerations that are taken in the security aspect with an ATM do not change with a BATM and even less with the double guillotine rates, fixed rate of $10 and variable rate of 3%, example values , these vary depending on the ATM, in short, it is almost the same.

Except that with a BATM you have the variable "rarity" someone waits for the tourist who uses them, and unless it is strictly an emergency do not use them, as simple as that, there are so many ways to get Fiat money via TDC, TDD or cash that BATm ATMs are for cryptocurrency tourists and you OP, I'm sure you're not.

coin ATM Radar (https://coinatmradar.com) is the much used platform through which Bitcoin ATM can be located throughout the world. However we can't be sure whether that particular ATM is functioning or not. In the past few people have travelled to different countries around the world using bitcoin. Now traveling with bitcoin is not a big deal as we'll see lot of services and stores accepting Bitcoin around us. It is our responsibility to explore and make use of it.

When it comes to bitcoin, we were able to see a big difference in the service fee charged on every transaction. I haven't used with these Bitcoin ATM. In my country big news came that Bitcoin ATM is located in a particular place and the next day's title was the Seizure of the Bitcoin ATM by the government.

Hi OP where are you, why haven't you seen the discussion until now?
All the members' answers seem to be enough to explain what you are asking.

If you just want to feel how to use Bitcoin ATM for the first time, it won't be a problem with a fairly expensive fee, after all, you only use it once.

But if you use it for transactions and to pay for some of the items you buy at shopping places or convenience stores that accept Bitcoin then using the Bitcoin Lightning Jarigan is the best suggestion instead of using a Bitcoin ATM which is more complicated and costs more.
It will also be faster without waiting for many confirmations like the usual Bitcoin network.

I hope you will come to this discussion thread and clarify your journey about Bitcoin ATMs and what advice you prefer.