Bitcoin Forum

http://s29.postimg.org/qpwlp073b/20140906_181319.jpg

Freakin awesome!!!   Nuff said!!!!

Can you make a little description of the process?

I've seen some videos of other models and it's a nightmare to use.

I agree. Some of these machines are a nightmare.

To be honest... I was very nervous not knowing what to expect.
It was easy as could be.

When I walked up the machine I clicked start.
You enter your mobile phone number and get an SMS code.
Enter that code, and you continue.

You are asked if you want to buy or sell.... in my case, I tried a sales today to 1 BTC.

I click on 'Sell Bitcoin'
Next it asked me to enter a dollar amount --- so I typed in $500.

Next I was presented with a QR code on the screen -- saying I have 5 minutes to send BTC to that address.
I opened my mobile wallet, scanned the QR code and clicked send.

Within seconds the screen confirmed a transaction had been started.

I was told I need to wait for 1 confirm (up to 10 minutes) for the transaction.
I would receive another SMS when the transaction was ready.

About 10 minutes later I was sent an SMS with a Redeem Code.
I returned to the machine.


Same process.. enter phone number, then confirm the SMS code.
Now I click on 'Redeem Code'  and typed in my code.

After I typed it in...the machine proceeded to dispense $500 in cash!
As easy as could be!!

Nice!

So, KYC/AML is phone number + machine camera?

Ok, I could have used a pre-paid phone with no tracking.
There is a camera on the machine.

The nice part, I can buy and sell right there.. and there is a 5% fee to the bank operating the equipment.
Overall, it was a pretty neat experience.

It's lousy as seen on many reviews is this one awesome to you.They said it takes a long duration to complete the transaction with ATMs

Awesome! I have yet to experience my first bitcoin ATM. It's nice that this one did not make you privide Drivers License or scan fingerprints. It seems easy enough, although I see the 1 confirmation thing a pretty big turnoff for the mainstream. If people want their cash right away, they will not wait an average of 10 minutes.

The exchange rate seems reasonable enough. Was that 5% fee added on top of the displayed exchange rate?

The 5% was accounted for on the going rate... so when I typed in the amount I wanted I didn't get that amount -5%

As for the 10 minute wait... this BTM was located inside a small restaurant.   I could have started the transaction, ordered a quick bite to eat, and finished with collecting on my way out.

Smooth.
Buying bitcoins should probably be quicker.

yes, good point (for the "need to wait the 1 confirmation").  ;)

This sounds like a very smooth process. Do you know if there are any limits as to how much you can buy/sell per day?

I also don't see an address as to where the ATM is located in case anyone (like myself) might be interested.

robocoin  ::) ?

I don't understand why you'd do this since the fees are so extortionate... it just doesn't make sense...

Did you type in the fiat amount, or the bitcoin amount? Your post above says you typed in $500 for 1 bitcoin (I would just be surprised that the price would be exactly that much).

I think it is exciting to have more 2 way bitcoin ATMs around the country. I think it will really encourage commerce in bitcoin.

hey thats awesome, but eventually the goal should be the extinction of fiat all together

All those hurdles and hoops you have to jump are merely due to regulatory reasons. It's a shame that such a simple technology has to adhere to those things, but we can't change that, it seems. Also the premium you pay for using an ATM is still unreasonably high!

Very cool , you can convert FIAT TO BTC there only or BTC to FIAT also?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htezYytwiGs

I'm curious as to why it wasn't mentioned in the OP, nor anybody cared to ask what restaurant this is located in.

http://www.bitaccess.co/btminfo/us/chicago/buy_bitcoin_in_chicago_01/

http://www.midwestbtc.com/


The people who own the BTC company own the restaurant. No big fuckin' deal, so why the obfuscation?

Actually, I know why, but will leave that for some other thread.

It's really nice to hear from someone who has used one of these and had an easy time with it. I was someone that had read a lot about these being a pain to use and very daunting but it seems your experience was the complete opposite. I am still yet to use one of these however I now know when I get the chance not to be as worried, it seems pretty easy!

Next time bring some electrical tape to put over that camera recording everything you do.  :)

-B-

I am confused, the machine agreed to buy at your over priced entry of $500?

Yet clearly was selling to you at $479?

Please explain how you were able to just set the price you wanted and it wasn't pre determined (buy rate) by the machine. Or how this machine literally gives money away lol

Or there was a $21 rate change from when you sold at $500 and took the pic, doubtful but giving you a reason out.

Usually there's a huge "spread" of buy to sell on these things, which has rendered the entire Bitcoin ATM ecosystem a complete useless joke.  Maybe that's what happened.  When he finally got in there, surprise, the markup was fucking $21 just to purchase.  Greedy ATM owners have singlehandedly made this innovation pointless. :(

-B-

This sounds like ANYthing but convenient. 

Let me get this straight...you had to return to the machine AFTER waiting 10 minutes for the first confirmation?

Yeah, no thanks.  Might be nice once in a while when you have an afternoon to kill and nowhere to be. 

I agree.  This review has singlehandedly prevented me from checking out the ATM for myself.  I live in the Chicago area. 

Sorry for the confusion.   When entering the amount you want to withdraw you enter that amount in USD.  It then showed me a qr code asking for me to send 1.xx coins in.  It calculated my btc value to spend based on how much I wanted in USD.

Yeah, the 10 minute delay on transactions over $100 was a little bit of a put off... but its all still new, right!

This is how I imagined a BTM(love the name) should work.  You shouldn't feel like your being tracked traced and data based just to get some money in general or for Bitcoin.  The "ATM" I've seen in action from video seem way to invasive.

Your review is very much appreciated and I'm glad you had a smooth transaction and overall good experience.

More updates!

So I went back for more 'processing' fun today!
In the middle of a transaction, the machine completely froze up.... not responding at all.

Luckily I saw a contact@ email address on the bottom of the screen.
Now mind you, it was Sunday at like 5pm -- who is gonna be on call, right?

I sent an email to the address listed stating I needed help with the machine in Chicago (Yes, Cassava Bread).
Within minutes I was contacted back and was on the phone with a support person for Midwest Bitcoin.

In 10 minutes they had fixed the problem, reset the machine, and I was able to complete my transaction.
Now THAT is customer service!!

 ;D


Note:  I had previously not mentioned Cassava because I didn't stop to eat the first time.  Today, we did stop to eat.
Yes, the food was excellent!!

Apart from the high fee, this sounds like a good thing. The more ATM's the better.Competition should bring the fee's down in time.

This is what happens when there isn't enough competition, people will charge what they can get away with, look at the games industry for fucks sake lol :P I know it's a completely different industry but I can't help but think about how stupid the prices are for games in some genres with this sort of thing since it's both to do with digital products, the prices for some digital things are just crazy.

nicelooking ATM..How much till confirmation?

Haha that is so cool. I read theres one in Seattle and looked it up; Plan on visiting that at some point.
I hope they keep opening more, it would be awesome to have them in every city!! Think of the convenience!

I think this also somewhat has to do with the connivance factor. If people can just go to a restaurant or a store with cash and buy bitcoin then they will be willing to pay more verses having to have an exchange linked to your bank account and waiting days for the deposit to confirm

The confirmation wait was low this time... less than 5 minutes.

For new bitcoiners it is unbelievably inconvenient to buy bitcoin. I live in Canada and i have scanned my ID, jumped through hoops, linked bank accounts, verified phone numbers you name it. Still, to this day i have never purchased bitcoin from an actual company.  I would use a BTM if i was in need of bitcoin that same day.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Have also heard many of these machines are a nightmare. Seems your experience was a serious time commitment. I'd hate to have to wait around for 10 minutes for confirmation. But, nevertheless, it is cool these machines are popping up, hopefully technology will start making this process a lot more convenient.

I like to think of this as today's IBM 5150 PC... We should not expect lightning speed or sub dollar fees at this early stage.
Even if this isn't your ideal experience it's still worth supporting if you want the technology to evolve.
10 minutes vs days from banks sounds better already... especially when you consider the history of the federal reserve mismanagement.

 THIS IS SO COOL!  Looks very nice!

That sounds very convenient. Hopefully these become more widespread.

Sounds pretty straight forward to me, only having to wait for 1 confirmation is easy, i thought they would want at least 2.
How do they prevent double spend with only 1 confirmation?
I use a one way Lamassu atm where i live all the time but have yet to try a 2-way machine.

Thanks to the OP for posting.  This looks like it is really cool.  The 5% is a huge turn off for me though. 

In the future, I can imagine there being many more ATMs and many more companies and prices, spreads, and fees getting much tighter. 

I am one of those people that sends money overseas pretty often.  Right now I lose about 5% if I send 1000 USD.  That is exchange rates and bank fees on both sides.   It also takes about a day two to clear. 

In a world where a few bitcoin ATMs were in each city and the total fee was 1%, I would definitely use it.  I could have money overseas from fiat -> bitcoin -> fiat in under an hour. 

Also, 1% is not too hard to imagine.  Lots of companies could eventually be profitable on 1% especially if it is all automated. 

There are lots and lots of people from the third world working in rich countries sending money home.  Many of them illegal or unbanked.  Bitcoin ATMs could very easily have a huge market for international transfers if these ATMs become more common and tighter with fees. 

As stated.. this is new technology.
Yes, the fees are a little high.
Yes, I have to wait a little while for transactions to confirm.

That being said, I FULLY support this kind of tech!  ;D

Since I am blessed to be close to one of the two machines in the USA, yes, I am going to use the machine.
I want to support it's operation... I want to see more of them -- in every store and on every (other) corner!

Fees will drop... wait times will improve... but only if there is interest in the technology!

Looks like a nice machine. I hope they will be everywhere in the world. But most likely some of the governments wont agree with Bitcoins.

Cool, thanks for sharing that!

Chicago PBS did a story/interview with the owner tonight, pretty good - http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2014/07/29/bitcoin-banking-rises

This is a two-way machine (can buy and sell Bitcoin) and it is located at Cassava in Chicago: 3338 North Clark Street Chicago IL, 60657. They accept Bitcoin and make amazing empanadas and smoothies if you are able to make a visit.

I would somewhat doubt that 5% will be somewhat of the norm for people to have to pay when using a bitcoin ATM. The ATM operator would likely need to invest tens of thousands of dollars worth of bitcon and cash fiat to buy/sell bitcon at the ATM. This does not even cover the cost of the ATM itself. I would imagine the ATM operator needing to pay some kind of rent/royalty to the store the ATM is located in as well. They need to make some kind of return on these investments.

What information/id/bioscan requirements are there?

That makes sense. Current average rate is at 6%. http://coinatmradar.com/blog/bitcoin-atm-fees-analytics/ (http://coinatmradar.com/blog/bitcoin-atm-fees-analytics/)
And this is what the market defines, I also doubt it will ever fall below 3% even due to increased competition and increase volumes in the ATM (e.g. mass adoption). The only AML/KYC probably eat not less than 1% and then there are cash logistics, rent, purchase of ATM, support, fees to the manufacturers, licensing etc. So, 1% in fees total for using Bitcoin ATM is just illusion here.

Glad to see your experience was a positive one...mine defiantly wasn't lol but then again I hold the fault of that to the machine.

According to their website (http://www.bitaccess.ca/consumers/), if you're transacting less than $3,000 worth of BTC, it would appear they only require SMS verification, which isn't ridiculous, it's easy to bypass if you don't have a phone or don't want to use your own.
However, they also state here under the "KYC Compliance" tab, that additional verification options can enabled and configured by the operator.
So basically it depends on the decisions of whoever owns the ATM.

This is essentially true for any bitcoin ATM. It is up to the operator to determine how what KYC/AML steps they wish to take. If they do not use enough verifications then they would potentially be liable for not fully complying with the law, but it is their decision.

I would think the OP can give some insight as to what KYC steps were taken in his situation.

Have you tried VOS, getting verified involved a few hoops, but interact deposits are available, I can get BTC in about an hour with minimal fees! Certainly no 5%, but I will probably still try the new BTM that just down the road when I get a chance ;)  It looks the same as the one in the OP!

I've never used one of these atms. Can you just buy btc or does it dispense cash as well?

This is true in Australia, operators of the Lamassu brand bitcoin atm can configure there machine for id scan ect if required by government regulations in the future.
At the moment its not needed for small transactions.

Why do some ATM machines require that you do ridiculous proof of identity tests such as: ID scan, fingerprint scan.. what the hell?
Why others only require SMS?

If you put too much hassle in the machines to do the transactions, it will all fail.

It depends on what country the ATMs are in. I've blogged about it at the link below...

http://blog.atlantabitcoin.com/us-bitcoin-atm-regulation-102/ (http://blog.atlantabitcoin.com/us-bitcoin-atm-regulation-102/)

Thanks for sharing it, great experience!  ;)

This looks amazing,I wish here in the uk we had one but the closest is in london,i might have to visit the one in london very soon :)

I think anyone that finds it daunting doesn't know how to operate a TV set, much less an ATM.
That is easy as cake.

Not sure why it needs a phone number when you are selling bitcoin to it.

I don't think it's ideal that to someone unfamiliar with how BTC works, looking at the display it looks as though the minimum spend is ~$480. A little display underneath with $1 = 2085 uBTC/bits would be good, just to clarify that you can put 20 bucks in if you want

I think it is clear to me that the display is saying what the price of 1 bitcoin is, and not the minimum purchase amount. I would think it should be obvious to the public that you can have/buy smaller amounts of bitcoin then 1 BTC just like you have have small amounts of "dollars" just like pennies, nickels and dimes (ect.) allow.

I also know that many bitcoin ATMs do a lot of volume so I would speculate that average transaction size is a lot more then $20

I know I sure love waiting 10 minutes to withdraw cash from a regular ATM.