[2014-05-03] CoinDesk: New SMS Bitcoin Service Aims at Emerging Markets

[bryant.coleman]

http://www.coindesk.com/new-sms-bitcoin-service-aims-emerging-markets

Singapore payment processor CoinPip has launched a new wallet service that allows anyone in the world to send bitcoin via SMS. The company launched the feature in conjunction with US-based 37coins, and is aiming the service at developing and emerging markets where access to smartphone and desktop PC apps is limited.

[greatway]

Wow this is interesting.  Sooner or later bitcoin will be the real e-money accepted worldwide.

[hilariousandco]

I actually briefly looked into how difficult it would be to set something up like this for the UK as it's a very easy way for anybody to get some coins. I think some people mentioned on here that this had been done a few times in the earlier days of Bitcoin too.

[bryant.coleman]

Wow this is interesting.  Sooner or later bitcoin will be the real e-money accepted worldwide.

IMO, this is a good start. And the plus point is that you don't need a smartphone or a laptop to trade the coins. That makes this service very attractive to the poorer countries, such as those in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

[yatsey87]

Wow this is interesting.  Sooner or later bitcoin will be the real e-money accepted worldwide.

IMO, this is a good start. And the plus point is that you don't need a smartphone or a laptop to trade the coins. That makes this service very attractive to the poorer countries, such as those in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

That's a very good point. Sending coins or payment via text messages could be great if you have no internet connection. I think this sort of service could really catch on and push the currency to where it might not have been able to get to previously.

[zeetubes]

I wonder if you could use a googlevoice number? That would open up a few other possibilities.

[bryant.coleman]

I wonder if you could use a googlevoice number? That would open up a few other possibilities.

This is what I found:

It allows consumers to pay in bitcoin via any CoinPip Merchant POS from any mobile device with SMS functionality.

Also, this:

To beging using a 37coins bitcoin SMS wallet, mobile users simply need to visit www.37coins.com and enter a mobile number in countries where the service has been launched. Once confirmed, the gateway can then be opened by anyone from any location and users can send and receive bitcoin from anywhere with mobile access.

I think it is possible to use with googlevoice, if you have a phone number.

[zeetubes]

Cool. It seems you only need one smart phone in a given country acting as a gateway to allow other local users to make use of the service just with sms. The person that runs the gateway takes a tiny percentage of each transaction that goes through. The sms end-users are identified by their SIM card so maybe GV wouldn't work. Early days but it's a great way to marry old tech with new tech for developing countries.

I remember getting a text from a friend which went via my GV to my local phone. We chatted back and forth for a while and then he said, "let's go for a beer." I replied that it would be a bit difficult because I was on a train in hong kong and he was the other side of the world. He had no idea I wasn't local. GV is pretty seamless.

[bryant.coleman]

Cool. It seems you only need one smart phone in a given country acting as a gateway to allow other local users to make use of the service just with sms. The person that runs the gateway takes a tiny percentage of each transaction that goes through. The sms end-users are identified by their SIM card so maybe GV wouldn't work. Early days but it's a great way to marry old tech with new tech for developing countries.

I remember getting a text from a friend which went via my GV to my local phone. We chatted back and forth for a while and then he said, "let's go for a beer." I replied that it would be a bit difficult because I was on a train in hong kong and he was the other side of the world. He had no idea I wasn't local. GV is pretty seamless.

I haven't used Google Voice and don't know much about it. If it is currently not compatible with this SMS Bitcoin Service, then we can petition the Google support staff to make it so.

[Bit_Happy]

...then we can petition the Google support staff to make it so.

Everything is coming together so rapidly, it's very exciting.
We are going where no one has ever gone before. 

[bryant.coleman]

Everything is coming together so rapidly, it's very exciting.
We are going where no one has ever gone before. 

Yes... the last 2-3 months has seen a lot of action and momentum.... but everything has been sidelined due to the Gox / China issues. Once the latter fades away, we can see the Bitcoin cruising to new heights.

[zeetubes]

I haven't used Google Voice and don't know much about it. If it is currently not compatible with this SMS Bitcoin Service, then we can petition the Google support staff to make it so.
[/quote]

I travel a lot. So every new country I get a new sim card. With google voice and one of the apps that make it support both 3g and wifi, any phone call or sms to my US number routes to me as though I'm local. You can also forward your GV number to any other number but I don't think to overseas numbers. Incoming text messages and voice messages are transcribed in an email my gmail account. To make a text message work in reverse you can send an email with all the signatures removed to keep it small. I'm not sure about the practicalities and/or legalities of assigning another sim card's ID to your GV number but if google would assign a pseudo ID to your GV number it could potentially work. I'm not technical enough anymore to talk about this stuff but I'm sure there are people on the forum who could give an educated answer.