Google Checkout/Amazon Payments to accept BTC for CC?

[moocow1452]

Originally made this post for Square before I realized they didn't have anyway to allow users to make payments online.

So, if we want another Paypal service that allows merchants to take Credit Card payments, why not try Google or Amazon's engine?

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[Stephen Gornick]

So, if we want another Paypal service that allows merchants to take Credit Card payments, why not try Google or Amazon's engine?

It has been tried, and it always ends in tears -- either for the customers or for the merchant.  The terms of service exclude this type of use.

They sometimes will work person-to-person but once there is any volume to speak of then Google or PayPal or whomever will freeze the account, hold the funds, etc.

For instance, you can use Square to sell bitcoins to your buddy and Square would likely never know nor care.   Start doing that a few times a day every day and Square is going to call you and ask what type of business you are in.

[Update: There's usually one person testing the fences somewhere.  Here's the latest -- purchase tiny amounts of bitcoins through PayPal:
 - http://minibits.weebly.com
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=70148.0
]

[moocow1452]

Google does allow digital currency exchange for surezies on it's TOS, (https://groups.google.com/a/googleproductforums.com/forum/#!category-topic/checkout-merchant/selling-with-google-checkout/RiIUWOo8sb8) I have heard horror stories about accounts being shut down for no reason, but nothing first-hand from someone selling Bitcoin. Figured I'd ask around first.

[Stephen Gornick]

I have heard horror stories about accounts being shut down for no reason, but nothing first-hand from someone selling Bitcoin. Figured I'd ask around first.

BTCNow.net is one.  They were sparring with Google for a matter of weeks or months maybe, then stopped accepting Google Checkout completely.  They now only sell Bitcoins for OKPay and Dwolla.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

Could one sell their own newly created eBook about some mundane topic, that has incorporated in it an Instawallet of $X, thus working around that restriction? Better yet, two copies of the same, with half the URL in each. C&P them together, then you have the address where your newly purchased coins reside. Transfer the coins out and never use the URL based address again.

~Bruno~

[moocow1452]

I guess, but you might as well keep a formal invoice if you're going to try and fight digital goods. I guess you can put burden of proof on them by having to actively input the code to get their coins, or take their BTC address and pray to God that they would use the same one they gave you, but I'm not sure how that would hold up in a chargeback investigation without someone weaseling their way out of something. Is there a Instawallet fork that you can email/password protect, sort of like a burner account at an exchange, or at least have some sort of two-factor between the URL itself and another password?

Edit: https://blockchain.info/wallet/ That's the ticket. Gonna do some asking around, been doing a lot of that lately, see what I can get away with.

Could also mail them a physical Yubikey and have that be signed for, but that sort of takes the instant advantage of Credit Cards out of it. Convience is still there, as is security for buyer and seller. Hurm.... maybe for >$100 worth of BTC, it has to be authenticated that way?