Zipzap at Miami - UK debut next week - 28,000 locations to buy BTC

[gentlemand]

Aye. I think buyers will be on their own there. I should think that's going to be far too much hassle for them to deal with. One fine day we'll have a real exchange in the UK.

[El Dude]

they will also be selling Litecoin.

[btbrae]

Does anybody know if the store clerk has to interact with Bitcoin in any way or understand what is happening, because it seems like you just give them a slip and they stick it in a machine and it's "thankyou please come again" ?

[gentlemand]

I'm sure 99.9% of folks behind the counter won't have a clue what they're transacting. It'll have to be exactly as you said it'll operate.

[empoweoqwj]

Great news, but I am very dubious about what exchange rate they will base it on - probably Gox - that would give them a 15% commission right there

[Mitzplik]

Cashtabs fee are generally £3.95 + 3.95%

[empoweoqwj]

Cashtabs fee are generally £3.95 + 3.95%

But it still depends on what the exchange rate they choose for bitcoins to UKP. Currency convertors screw people all the time with large spreads. Its even easier with bitcoin because there is no centralised exchange rate.

[illpoet]

wasnt zipzap what bitinstant used to use?  I wonder how long till something like this comes back to the U.S.

[btbrae]

not that localbitcoins is what you would call competitive but hey, it's quick and easy

Right. I think if they price @ localbitcoins then they will get the people that might have used localbitcoins (the kind people that would rather not wire transfer to a foreign bank or submit identification documents) and make a nice profit from them, but if they price @ bitstamp they will get those people AND a lot more but not necessarily make a great profit from them. The only thing that will change this is competition, but they will probably have that side of the market cornered for a good while in the UK yet. Not bothered, it's all good for Bitcoin, it is a very welcome service.

[sickpig]

The biggest thing for me, is it gives Bitcoins legitimacy in the UK.  If my bank manager questions why I am selling bitcoin miners, I can point to the fact I can walk into my local corner shop, and buy bitcoins.

And why on earth your banking manager should ask you this? he should mind to his own business

[empoweoqwj]

Great news, but I am very dubious about what exchange rate they will base it on - probably Gox - that would give them a 15% commission right there

remember this is LTC also, not live on gox. official answer below

"It completely depends on the exchange we source the coins from. Hopefully you understand we can't divulge our pricing formula except to say that we WILL be competitive to the likes of localbitcoins, especially in times of high market volatility"

not that localbitcoins is what you would call competitive but hey, it's quick and easy

Why can't they divulge their pricing formula? What is this, the KGB?

[Lauda]

You just can't be happy can you? Now you're complaining about the fee..

[empoweoqwj]

You just can't be happy can you? Now you're complaining about the fee..

Every bitcoin company I know discloses their "fee structure" - seems entirely reasonable thing to expect.

[hilariousandco]

There are 7 outlets in walking distance to me.  Seems expensive, although they dont have any competition.

I wonder what sort of marketing they are going to do.

Seems they don't do any since nobody seems to have heard of it nor even know their local store provides the service.

[howzar]

I'm wondering too. No mention of extra details so far. Their markup may be brutal. We'll have to see.

You just said £3.95 flat fee? That's pretty good if you're buying 1BTC but not so much if you just want to buy £10's worth.

it's a good rate I guess for large amounts. it might be high for small ones but if it was made into a percentage then all medium and big buyers won't be satisfied.
Great news generally for bitcoins.

[LiteCoinGuy]

they will also be selling Litecoin.

of course. if you sell gold, you must sell silver 

[hilariousandco]

they will also be selling Litecoin.

of course. if you sell gold, you must sell silver 

Nah, people don't care for silver because it's second-best shit... like Litecoin  .

[h3rlihy]

This is awesome news. Would be great to be able to give people less than a 5-step solution involving finding documents etc when they ask about how to get bitcoin

[techstorm2]

There will be 4 within a 5 mile radius of where i live. Awesome!!

[runam0k]

Likewise, impressive.