Interested in buying selling BTC for GBP/INR London <-> India

[tenakha]

Hi there,

I am based in London and am interested in buying selling BTC in India.

Namaskar. Mein London mein rehta hoon, aur mein Bitcoin trade karna chahta hoon Bharat bhai aur behno se.

Agar aap mere saath trade karne chahein ge to zaroor mujhe aik Personal Message juld se juld baij dein.

Sab ko uper vale ka Bala ho.

[1714902813]

1714902813

[1714902813]

1714902813

[1714902813]

1714902813

[1714902813]

1714902813

[tenakha]

I'm having discussions with a few guys here about sending bitcoins to India.

The main issue at the moment is how to receive money from India to UK.

Firstly a resident Indian cannot send more than $5000 in a year to a person outside India.

Secondly - Western Union/Moneygram may be an option.

Thirdly - ICICI and Lloyds TSB offer a service that links their two accounts together.

Fourthly - there are places in London that allow one to send Pounds to Rupees. It may be possible to do the reverse also.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

[Benson Samuel]

Paypal for small quantities. Bitcoinary seems to be building on it quite decently.

[Benson Samuel]

http://bensonsamuel.com/bitcoin-3/a-decentralized-monetary-system-for-a-decentralized-currency/

[matthewh3]

I think bitcoin could really do well with remittances between the UK and India special if bitcoin adoption grew in India.  I know this wallet is translated to Hindi - https://blockchain.info/hi/wallet/ - although I'm not sure if the Android version is?  Is the MPESA idea from Kenya big in India.  If so that could be a starting point for bitcoin adoption once smartphone's are more widely adopted if the bitcoin wallet app's are translated.

[Benson Samuel]

P2P payments are not yet allowed by the RBI.

This is likely to change quite soon.

The best ways of money transfer for now seem to be OTC and Netbanking transfers.

In the next 6 months though, we will be seeing a change in the Indian Payments ecosystem.

[StLucifer]

I'm having discussions with a few guys here about sending bitcoins to India.

The main issue at the moment is how to receive money from India to UK.

Firstly a resident Indian cannot send more than $5000 in a year to a person outside India.

Secondly - Western Union/Moneygram may be an option.

Thirdly - ICICI and Lloyds TSB offer a service that links their two accounts together.

Fourthly - there are places in London that allow one to send Pounds to Rupees. It may be possible to do the reverse also.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

I have an update. I tried to see if it is possible to send funds through icici bank net banking facility.

there is an option on the left navigation menu "Fund transfer abroad"

at first you are presented with the following screen:


then u have some terms and conditions as follows:

Code:

ICICI bank internationa funds transfer form - terms and conditions

Terms & Conditions

    I agree that the exchange rate will be applicable at the time of deal booking and may vary from the rate prevailing when the request is submitted.
    I understand that the rate communicated to us (if any) is an indicative rate and the actual rate may be different from the same.
    I understand that submission of request does not necessarily imply processing of the transaction. ICICI Bank has full rights to reject the transaction based on regulatory and internal guidelines.
    The limit submitted is correct and has not been exhausted in current Financial Year including this request for any of the accounts held by me individually or collectively with any bank.
    I authorize you to debit my Savings Bank Account together with your charges and effect the foreign exchange remittance directly.
    I understand that on submitting the request if service request number is not displayed then I should check if the email confirmation is received for successful submission of the request and should check if the debit is posted in the account. I understand any re-initiation without confirming will result into duplicate debit into my account.
    I understand for the same day processing the request should be raised before 1400 hrs IST.
    I understand above cut off is applicable on working days. (Presently Monday to Friday excluding Bank Holidays in India and the country of remittance).
    I understand that the request once placed will not be cancelled.
    I understand this facility is only for Telegraphic Transfer/Wire transfer.
    I confirm that I am not a foreign national.
    I understand that the ICICI bank is not liable in case funds are not credited or credited with the delay for any reason at beneficiary bank/intermediary bank's end
    In case of any query or suggestion kindly contact our Customer Service Desk.



Financial limits and declarations:
     	I/We hereby declare that-
  	

    The total amount of foreign exchange purchased from or remitted through, all sources in India during this financial year including this application is within USD 25000 (USD Twenty Five Thousand Only) the limit prescribed by Reserve Bank of India for the said purpose under FEMA, 1999.
    Foreign exchange purchased from you is for the purpose mentioned in this application.
    The transaction, the details of which are specifically mentioned in the application, does not cross the limit for the financial year or any other limit prescribed by RBI under FEMA, 1999 for the said purpose.

  	Declaration on Prohibited Transactions:
     	I/We hereby declare that the transaction mentioned above does not involve, and is not designed for any purpose for which the drawal of foreign exchange is prohibited under Rule 3 of the Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transactions) Rules, 2000 read with Schedule I thereof viz,
  	

    I confirm that I am not a foreign national.
    Travel to Nepal and/or Bhutan
    A transaction with a person resident in Nepal or Bhutan.
    Remittance out of lottery winnings.
    Remittance of income from racing/riding etc. or any other hobby
    Remittance for purchase of lottery tickets, banned/proscribed magazines, football pools, sweepstakes, schemes involving money circulation, securing prize money/ awards etc.
    Payment of commission on exports made towards equity investment in Joint Ventures/Wholly Owned Subsidiaries abroad of Indian companies.
    Remittance of dividend by any company to which the requirement of dividend balancing is applicable.
    Payment of commission on exports under Rupee State Credit Route except commission up to 10% of invoice value of exports of tea and tobacco.
    Payment related to "Callback services" of telephones.
    Remittance of interest income on funds held in Non-Resident Special Rupee Account Scheme.

  	
     	I/We, being a person resident in India, hereby declare that for transaction done under the Liberalized Remittance Scheme for resident individual, issued and amended by Reserve Bank from time to time, is not in the nature of remittance for margins or margin calls to overseas exchanges/ overseas counter party under the scheme
  	

  	
     	Updated list of prohibited transactions under foreign exchange management act can be accessed on ICICI Bank website (www.icicibank.com)
  	

  	
     	Other relevant declarations:
  	

    I/We hereby declare that the purpose and transaction details as mentioned above are true to the best of my knowledge and does not involve, and is not designed for the purpose of any contravention or evasion of the provisions of the FEMA, 1999 or any rule, regulation, notification, direction or order made there under. I/We agree that I/We shall be responsible and liable for any incorrect detail provided by me/us.
    I/We also hereby agree and undertake to give such information/documents as will reasonably satisfy you about this transaction in terms of the above declaration.
    I/We agree that in the event the transaction could not be executed/ debited to my/our account after submitting the request for processing to the bank on account of insufficient/ unclear balance at the time of execution of the transaction in my/our account, any exchange losses incurred in this connection due to reversal of forex deal can be charged to my/our ICICI Bank account.
    I/We agree that in the event the transaction is cancelled or revoked by me/us after submitting the request for processing to the bank, any exchange losses incurred in this connection can be charged to my/our ICICI Bank account. I /We further agree that once the funds remitted by me/us have been transmitted by ICICI Bank to the correspondent and/or beneficiary banks, ICICI Bank shall not be responsible for any delays in the disbursement of such funds including the withholding of such funds by the correspondent and/or beneficiary banks.
    I/We agree that in the event the transaction being rejected by the beneficiary bank because of incorrect information submitted by me, any charges levied by the beneficiary bank or exchange losses incurred in this connection can be charged to my ICICI Bank account.
    I/We also understand that if I/We refuse to comply with any such requirement or make only unsatisfactory compliance therewith, ICICI Bank shall refuse in writing to undertake the transaction and shall, if it has reason to believe that any contravention/evasion is contemplated by me/us, report that matter to the RBI. 

These terms do not seem to be mentioning anything remotely similar to ecurrency or bitcoins.

then the remittance form:



under purpose of remittance there are a few options none of which applies to bitcoins. the closest one is something like "purchase of goods or services for personal use".
i do not know whether bitcoins is goods or service.

Excuse the formatting of the terms and conditions.... a bit of a copy paste job as i do not have much time.

[Benson Samuel]

This is a good post.

Made me check my AXIS bank phone App and it seems that they support mobile payments now

Have not tested it, but it seems to have an option to send funds to a phone number and e-mail ID with an AXIS Bank account.

Also supports SMS P2P Payments.

This is awesome for Bitcoin.

[StLucifer]

@ Benson =>

I have also checked out HDFC bank, but it seems my account with them does not have the facility to transfer funds internationally.
I am not really interested in sending money to cellphones / other mobiles. I do not know how many others are, but i feel the purpose for these kinds of transactions will be very specific ( like refilling your prepaid phone, or prepaid DTH, etc etc ). It may reach a stage where cellphones can be used like credit / debit cards, but how it that going to facilitate bitcoin exchange among people? I am a bit confused

My concern here is how do Indians buy and sell bitcoins? local meet ups are not very reliable, and mrbitcoins.com is down, plus they charge very high fees, and they do not BUY BTC from you.

You CAN send funds to mtgox using the method i posted above, and trade bitcoins in that way.
You could also RECEIVE money to your bank account from mtgox.
So, if the purpose is to speculate and trade bitcoins, then this is the best way.

If your purpose is to obtain BTC easily, reliably and quickly, this method does not work well. You have to provide verification documents, wait a couple of days for the transactions to take place, and the cumulative transaction fees are quite high, so you cannot really trade on small changes in value, like people do in stocks.

Another thing that i have tried is mining litecoins and then selling them on btc-e ( the returns on mining LTC are higher ). However, i only managed to mine about 130 LTC in a period of 2- 3 months, as my hardware is not very good. Also, my sale timing was not good. I sold all my LTC for 0.00618 btc each and 2 days later it moved up to 0.0084 or something..

[Benson Samuel]

@ Benson =>

I have also checked out HDFC bank, but it seems my account with them does not have the facility to transfer funds internationally.
I am not really interested in sending money to cellphones / other mobiles. I do not know how many others are, but i feel the purpose for these kinds of transactions will be very specific ( like refilling your prepaid phone, or prepaid DTH, etc etc ). It may reach a stage where cellphones can be used like credit / debit cards, but how it that going to facilitate bitcoin exchange among people? I am a bit confused

My concern here is how do Indians buy and sell bitcoins? local meet ups are not very reliable, and mrbitcoins.com is down, plus they charge very high fees, and they do not BUY BTC from you.

You CAN send funds to mtgox using the method i posted above, and trade bitcoins in that way.
You could also RECEIVE money to your bank account from mtgox.
So, if the purpose is to speculate and trade bitcoins, then this is the best way.

If your purpose is to obtain BTC easily, reliably and quickly, this method does not work well. You have to provide verification documents, wait a couple of days for the transactions to take place, and the cumulative transaction fees are quite high, so you cannot really trade on small changes in value, like people do in stocks.

Another thing that i have tried is mining litecoins and then selling them on btc-e ( the returns on mining LTC are higher ). However, i only managed to mine about 130 LTC in a period of 2- 3 months, as my hardware is not very good. Also, my sale timing was not good. I sold all my LTC for 0.00618 btc each and 2 days later it moved up to 0.0084 or something..

P2P money is the first step for us to move forward. Until now, there was no instant money transfer facility across accounts in India. I have seen a lot of active Bitcoin users in India, getting them to actively trade is a must as this frees us from the FIAT ecosystem faster. Closed loop payments seem to have been removed with the AXIS Bank app. Which means that payments can be made to outside sources apart from DTH, etc..

Airtel Money is also building provisions for open loop money transfer systems which should be available quite soon across India.

I agree that it is incredibly hard at the moment to buy Bitcoin for Indians. Especially since 97% of us prefer to use Cash only. MrBitcoins should be up from tomorrow including INR. So that remains a good option if he returns.

Localbitcoins has worked best so far. I have a case study of a chap who sold 60 BTC in approx 4 hours and another who sold 100 BTC in 2 hrs. Its not a sustainable plan though.

MtGox is a good idea as well to link up with a bank account and the verification process is not that much of a pain, however anonymity is lost. Which is not a big deal for those who are speculating only.

Mining is a great option, however the advent of ASICS have killed it for my CPU mining attempts and I assume GPU miners must be struggling as well.

There are a few other providers who are fine with SWIFT transfers as well abroad, but I think ICICI is the only Indian bank that currently supports it.

WU and other cash transfer options are a last option for us as well.

Hopefully we can see the ecosystem get stronger across 2013.

[subvolatil]

any one selling  bitcoins  pm, me  we will work out a  deal. 

[Benson Samuel]

Check with the owner of unocoin.com

Or Localbitcoins.com