Bitcoin Prepaid card

[SPC_Bitcoin]

ha ha! "too many cocks in that pie"

issue a card (reads like debit card) with a public address and a 4 digit pin for spending
write card-reading-bitcoin-deducting code that can be run on visa/mc card readers, deposit bitcoin into merchant's account. basically hijack the readers. that shit's all run by firmware anyhow right?


people can reload the spendable cards with bitcoin. protect your bitcoin by only transferring what you want to spend at the time, can do that on your smartphone or mobile device.

hell, the card readers deduct foodstamps money, why not bitcoin?

(novice visionary)

[pinnpe]

I found a prepaid blablabla

http://thebitcoincard.co.uk/

Unfortunately they have no message how much it costs.
This is not my site, so be aware!!!!!

another 1
https://ibtcard.com/

[bernard75]

Check my sig.
I can even have them custom made like:

Design by jantenner81

[tonto]

I would be interested if:
 
1. the card never asked for any identifying information. So like a standard gift card, but pre-registered, turn-key
2. I could use it for either credit/debit purchase and/or ATM withdrawals
3. There was no fraud-detection protection built in.  It's swipe and go.   I wouldn't want to get annoying calls saying "the fraud detection unit thinks your purchase of 100 Thai whores isn't a legit purchase, please confirm or deny so we know if we need to cancel the card."   
4.  No limit (or a very high limit), nothing retarded like $500

[countryfree]

I have received a free prepaid MC 2 weeks ago. I got it while opening a new phone line. I've registered it, and I now have to wire money to the account linked to it, but I haven't done that yet. Don't know if I ever will. I have normal credit cards, and this one doesn't bring me anything I already have. A BTC prepaid card might raise my interest if it were totally anonymous, but I don't think it could be done legally, so I'll probably stick to my credit cards.

[SPC_Bitcoin]

I would be interested if:
 
1. the card never asked for any identifying information. So like a standard gift card, but pre-registered, turn-key
2. I could use it for either credit/debit purchase and/or ATM withdrawals
3. There was no fraud-detection protection built in.  It's swipe and go.   I wouldn't want to get annoying calls saying "the fraud detection unit thinks your purchase of 100 Thai whores isn't a legit purchase, please confirm or deny so we know if we need to cancel the card."   
4.  No limit (or a very high limit), nothing retarded like $500

Exactly!

captured the essence of bitcoin usability and function.

[Peter R]

I would be interested if:
 
1. the card never asked for any identifying information. So like a standard gift card, but pre-registered, turn-key
2. I could use it for either credit/debit purchase and/or ATM withdrawals
3. There was no fraud-detection protection built in.  It's swipe and go.   I wouldn't want to get annoying calls saying "the fraud detection unit thinks your purchase of 100 Thai whores isn't a legit purchase, please confirm or deny so we know if we need to cancel the card."  
4.  No limit (or a very high limit), nothing retarded like $500

Exactly!

captured the essence of bitcoin usability and function.

I was pondering my ideal bitcoin Visa card recently.  Why can't we have a dynamic limit?  Here's what I'm thinking: the user transfers coins in such a way that *either* the credit card provider or the user can spend them.  

Consider the case where I want to buy an expensive all-inclusive trip to Bora Bora.  I send the required BTC to some shared address, wait, say, 3 confirms, and then order my trip online.  When the website seeks authorization for my purchase, the credit card provider approves the purchase and immediately transfer the coins to their private address.    

Now consider the case where I decided at the last minute not to make the trip and I want to get my bitcoins back [without making annoying phone calls, etc].  Since I too have authority, I simple transfer these coins back to one of my privately controlled addresses.  

The only potential problem I see is if the user somehow transfers the coins to their private address at the same time as the credit card provider [effectively a double spend].  But maybe with enough of a delay in the authorization (the credit card provider can see that most of the network has picked up the honest transfer and no double spend was detected) or some other trick we could prevent this. 

Perhaps my implementation could use some tweaking.  But what I'm trying to achieve is (1) dynamic limits, (2) make it easy and quick to reliably get your unspent coins back.

[pinnpe]

The advantage of a prepaid card is:
- You can withdraw fiat currency from every atm worldwide.
- You can pay in stores (visa or mastercard) are generally accepted in more places then Bitcoins.
- Bitcoins gets exposure without people even knowing about it, technology needs to be invisible.
- Who knows the store owner might ask, Heee a Bitcoin prepaid card, what is Bitpay? then you just say them
to take a look @ Bitpay.com and who knows they might start learning about Bitcoins.

I can see a company like Bitpay do this, because they can process Bitcoins to fiat in 1 business day time.
Let's say you pay for something with a Bitpay prepaid card, what happens is:
- The amount in Bitcoins immediately gets taken from your wallet
- Bitpay immediately makes the amount available in fiat currency and your payment is done
(for the latter maybe they'll need a ewallet with fiat currencies, but who knows)

As a community we need to expand our strategies, because if we wait for people to regulate stuff, while they
haven't got the slightest clue (some do have a clue and want Bitcoins gone) what we are talking about. Our
experiment is not mainstream, so we have to promote it, as much as possible. The best way to get in the
club is to wear their dresscode. With an prepaid Visa or Mastercard attire, Bitcoin can get on the dancefloor.
That's why it's lovely to see the Lamassu & Canadian Atm's, people seem addicted to physical objects. The
other reason that a prepaid card would be fun is, you can have more of those in comparison to Atm's, but it's
the same strategy. The purpose of the prepaid that I mention by the way, is just to get store owners to see a
Bitcoin prepaid card preferably totally RED (because that colour is like "Take a good look @ me" and maybe
they will ask about it because they never saw something like it before. Now that is the start of a conversation,
but don't say to much just tell them to go to the website of the company that issues it, and maybe they will
start digging in the Bitcoin mine.

Please stop responding to this post, I would like to set this up, if I could, I can't because I don't have the
financial means. Secretly I was also hoping that somebody else in the Bitcoin community would do it.