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Author Topic: Bittylicious - UK Bitcoins using Bank Transfers  (Read 20412 times)
gigatux (OP)
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June 20, 2013, 11:30:06 AM
 #1

Hi,

I just launched a new site that allows people to buy Bitcoins using UK's Faster Payments system (i.e. regular bank transfers for most people). It's not a marketplace, so users can't register as sellers; it's really just a simple service to send Bitcoins once money has been deposited.

It's in a testing phase at the moment, but is live (with minimal margins to compensate those helping to test) so if anyone's interested, please sign up at http://www.bittylicious.com/. I'll post another announcement when it's open to all.

Feedback, constructive criticism etc. all welcome on this thread of course.

Thanks.
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June 20, 2013, 01:42:18 PM
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What are you rates versus Gox?

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June 20, 2013, 01:59:32 PM
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Thanks. Tested it out and BTC received pretty quickly.

It's a good idea - easy to use and you get to save on seller fees at other sites. You might need to be a touch more competitive on price though. There are (or were) some marginally cheaper options on localbitcoins, for example, where sellers do pay seller fees. Plus buyers using those sites get the benefit of coins being held in escrow.

For the website:

It would be good to see something like "> 100 bitcoins in stock, X available for you to buy" near the buy button. I'm guessing trades won't process or the available number will show as zero anyway, but making it nice and clear for the buyer is never a bad thing.

Also, I was waiting for the page to refresh to tell me bitcoins had been sent. For whatever reason, it didn't.
gigatux (OP)
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June 20, 2013, 02:30:31 PM
 #4

Hi,

Rates: The rate vs gox is currently approximately 1.5% above. It's just a test rate at the moment, quite low to get people interested in the service. It seems to be a relatively cheap day for LocalBitcoins so that's probably how runam0k found a cheap deal. The reality is that the prices on Bittylicious will go up when launched - it's not supposed to be the cheapest service around, but is supposed to be the most convenient and simplest to use.

Escrow: About the Escrow functionality, people trust LocalBitcoins' escrow system without worrying, and that's the idea here. Naturally, it's a new site, but in time people will hopefully trust it without worrying.

Website: Regarding the website, I intend on never running out of stock Wink Well, at least I want the users of the site to think that; I don't want to add another figure for them to worry about. Just near the 'Buy now' button, it says how many BTC are available to buy for the individual user. Do you think this isn't clear enough?

Page refresh: Regarding the page refresh as well, this should have happened automatically. How long did you want after you received your (unverified) Bitcoin? It should have refreshed usually within 20 seconds to show the transaction ID.

Many thanks for your testing. I welcome others to join in. Right now, you can get a Bitcoin on Bittylicious at http://www.bittylicious.com/ for only £72.39!

Thanks,

Marc
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June 20, 2013, 03:01:05 PM
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Are your fee's lower then GOX?

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June 20, 2013, 03:01:49 PM
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Website: Regarding the website, I intend on never running out of stock Wink Well, at least I want the users of the site to think that; I don't want to add another figure for them to worry about. Just near the 'Buy now' button, it says how many BTC are available to buy for the individual user. Do you think this isn't clear enough?
I took that as meaning my account could buy up to 1 BTC. That's not the same thing as saying 1 BTC is actually in stock and available. Taking localbitcoins as an example, it gives you both numbers. It also sets the coins aside in escrow. Comparing the buying experiences, I wasn't 100% confident you had enough bitcoins to fulfill the order until the bitcoins actually arrived.

Page refresh: Regarding the page refresh as well, this should have happened automatically. How long did you want after you received your (unverified) Bitcoin? It should have refreshed usually within 20 seconds to show the transaction ID.
I left the tab open for an hour while I went for lunch. Probably just a quirk with my browser/web access here at work.
gigatux (OP)
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June 20, 2013, 03:23:51 PM
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I took that as meaning my account could buy up to 1 BTC.
OK, understood. I've now clarified this by adding a simple 'plenty in stock' message to the right of the amount you are allowed to buy.

Quote
I left the tab open for an hour while I went for lunch. Probably just a quirk with my browser/web access here at work.

Strange. I'll give it another test here just in case - thanks for the feedback.

For anyone interested, the price is now £72.28 at http://www.bittylicious.com/
gigatux (OP)
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June 24, 2013, 09:48:46 AM
 #8

The beta testing period has ended and Bittylicious is now available for all users.

If you're unregistered, the maximum purchase is current 0.5 BTC. Register to get access to more Bitcoins.

The current price at http://www.bittylicious.com/ is £70.09 per BTC.
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June 24, 2013, 10:04:45 AM
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Cool. You might want to post to Currency Exchange, if you haven't already.
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June 24, 2013, 10:11:23 AM
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Great idea.

But got a feeling I won't be long before the banks shut you down.

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June 24, 2013, 11:15:57 AM
 #11

Great idea.

But got a feeling I won't be long before the banks shut you down.

by having a 0.5BTC (£35) limit per customer not registered this should be fine for bank risk. i would however tell bittylicious to have a regular contact with his local bank manager and ensure the bank manager knows that the business is bitcoin based. and not stupidly advertising based like blockchain.info tried to act like.

the only problems that could cause hassle are:

1) doing transactions to a customer above £850 a day or £12k a year
2) a customer (morelikely a paypal chargeback scammer) attempting to pphone the bank to complain about not receiving coins and demanding refund. then the bank investigating bitty. to see it is indeed a bitcoin business, where as bitty. claims it is not.

so again be honest with your bank tell them its a bitcoin business and show them how transparent it is to show proof of delivery (blockchain explorer) + plus logs of communications between bitty and customer.

and everything should be fine

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June 24, 2013, 06:44:02 PM
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and everything should be fine

What about VAT? If bitcoin is subject to VAT this might be a serious problem.
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June 24, 2013, 07:31:48 PM
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I've just given this service ago, it seemed a little cheaper than local bitcoins at the time. Smiley

Received my bitcoins within about 5 minutes. Cheesy

Not bad at all.

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gigatux (OP)
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June 24, 2013, 08:10:16 PM
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What about VAT? If bitcoin is subject to VAT this might be a serious problem.
Indeed, if Bitcoin is subject to VAT then the entire UK has an issue when it comes to Bitcoins. We're way below the VAT threshold, but my opinion is that it's not a VATtable item. I'm hoping we'll get HMRC to decide either way before we get near the threshold.

Frankly, if it is VATtable, then I agree it's game over for pretty much all UK Bitcoin selling outlets.
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June 24, 2013, 09:42:18 PM
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Frankly, if it is VATtable, then I agree it's game over for pretty much all UK Bitcoin selling outlets.

I agree and I really hope it isn't otherwise this will totally kill off all bitcoin businesses in the UK :|
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June 25, 2013, 06:16:59 PM
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Frankly, if it is VATtable, then I agree it's game over for pretty much all UK Bitcoin selling outlets.

I agree and I really hope it isn't otherwise this will totally kill off all bitcoin businesses in the UK :|
It probably will unless the seller avoids paying taxes.

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June 26, 2013, 09:37:00 AM
 #17

That's cool but you MUST have more information on your site around what makes you legit, are you properly licensed, etc.

Running an exchange like that invokes a titanic pile of regulations and if you don't follow them to the letter then the banks will shut you down. I didn't see a strong answer from you about whether your bank knows what you're doing. As you're a one man operation and the AML rules require you to be at least two, I suspect the answer is they don't know what you're doing, and that makes you very likely to get terminated. That in turn makes it harder for anyone else who is trying to run a UK exchange because the view that "bitcoin == money laundering" just gets reinforced at the banks. Just verifying identities isn't enough!

I have a UK bank account and would like to use your service, but frankly right now you look like a fly-by-night operation of the kind we've seen so many of before. I can't really justify using your service over Gox until it's clear that you've ticked all the right boxes.
gigatux (OP)
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June 26, 2013, 10:01:08 AM
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If only gov.uk would actually make it crystal clear what regulations/licensing is required for a business involving Bitcoins. On one hand HMRC suggests it's not a money service at all (but a voucher service) and on the other, vague noises come out suggesting that it needs to be fully regulated. We're in communication trying to come to some sort of concrete answer. Regarding AML, We registered under the HMRC MLR system (which makes sense to us) and haven't been informed in any way about two people being required.
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June 27, 2013, 02:41:51 PM
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I think you have to register with the FCA and inform your bank that you'll be engaged in currency exchange too. They can then inform you of what else is required.
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June 27, 2013, 06:46:01 PM
 #20

BTC0,5 trade went through without a hitch - thanks!

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