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Introducing the Shift Card: Use Bitcoin where Visa is accepted

blog.coinbase.com

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Re: Introducing the Shift Card: Use Bitcoin where Visa is accepted

#181

Post by CPLX »

soared wrote: post #162
gregmac wrote: post #159

So * you lose the psuedo-anonymity of Bitcoin (the card has your name on it). * It's a "debit" card, so it also has none of the protection of a normal credit card (eg: if someone steals my card or over-charges or whatever, my actual money is not touched). * It's not even real Bitcoin, it requires a Coinbase account (where, from what I understand, they manage your private key, so really own your bitcoins) What exactly…

How else do you think this could possibly work? >you lose the psuedo-anonymity of Bitcoin (the card has your name on it) Nobody would ever allow anonymous card transactions. The security risks with that alone are ridiculous. > It's a "debit" card, so it also has none of the protection of a normal credit card (eg: if someone steals my card or over-charges or whatever, my actual money is not touched). Nope. Debit cards…

> Nobody would ever allow anonymous card transactions. The security risks with that alone are ridiculous.

Sure they would. The gift card and reloadable/prepaid debit card market is huge. In theory they try to avoid anonymous usage but in practice they don't.

Re: Introducing the Shift Card: Use Bitcoin where Visa is accepted

#182

Post by newman314 »

mrb wrote: post #172

Oh wow I will sign up for one! I have been a Coinbase user since they started operating, and am currently in the middle of a year-long trip around the world so I have been looking for ways to minimize my international ATM withdrawal fees. My US bank (Wells Fargo) charge me a flat $5.00 fee per transaction, and my french bank (Crédit Agricole) charge me about $8.50 for the equivalent of a ~$220 withdrawal. I see that…

FWIW, there are credit cards with no foreign transaction fees.

Re: Introducing the Shift Card: Use Bitcoin where Visa is accepted

#183

Post by aianus »

eximius wrote: post #82
trevelyan wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who first bought bitcoin at 8 USD, I'm quite enamored of the price fluctuations. Considering that it will be heading into the four and five digits relatively soon, I'm not sure this is a negative.

4 and 5 digits? Please

It's already hit 4 digits.

Re: Introducing the Shift Card: Use Bitcoin where Visa is accepted

#184

Post by mirimir »

omni wrote: post #156
mirimir wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are some examples of "illegal transactions"? Under what jurisdiction? Arguably, anything is illegal somewhere, and is also legal somewhere else. Also, what do "conduct" and "some connection to" encompass? Are VPN services considered "illegal"? What about anonymous VPS rental? And what about gambling, in jurisdictions where it's legal? I get the sense that Coinbase is about as capricious as PayPal. And ought to b…

> a bunch of waffling and trying to dodge the question Gonna go out on a limb here and assume that, yes, you did a bunch of illegal shit.

My point is that Coinbase gets to decide whether or not their customers "did a bunch of illegal shit". At will, with no effective recourse.

Re: Introducing the Shift Card: Use Bitcoin where Visa is accepted

#185

Post by chatmasta »

adrianmacneil wrote: post #130
chatmasta wrote: post #55

Any idea why only 24 states? Is coinbase following FINCEN regulations by filing as a money transmitter in each eligible state?

Yes, probably related to money transmission licensing (and various other state finance laws). See https://www.coinbase.com/legal/licenses . There may also be some restrictions at the Shift end.

That's an interesting competitive advantage that coinbase has. Last I read on these laws, each license can cost ~$25k to procure. Many companies choose to "shoot first, ask questions later" and rollout their programs without acquiring a license in every state. For example Facebook only recently acquired money transmitter licenses (and may not even have one in every state), even though facebook credits / pay via facebook has been a feature for a long time.

The cost of acquiring these licenses is competitively prohibitive to startups, and honestly, there's no reason why it should be state by state. Money transmitter licensing should definitely move to the federal level.

Re: Introducing the Shift Card: Use Bitcoin where Visa is accepted

#186

Post by s73v3r »

mirimir wrote: post #148
adrianmacneil wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who used to work at Coinbase, hopefully I can shed some light on this. First of all, Bitcoin should not be seen primarily as a currency, but as a protocol. Therefore, bitcoin does not need to increase in value for it to be successful, and in the long term the price is irrelevant. Bitcoin can be used as a medium of exchange without regard to the price, and many people at Coinbase believe in this future (rat…

> ... so that we can enable a future where financial privacy is optional (versus today, where it is basically inescapable). This is a typo, right? Financial privacy today is basically impossible, not inescapable. Tracking is basically inescapable, unless one uses cash. And using cash is becoming virtually illegal.

"And using cash is becoming virtually illegal."

No it is not. Not even close. Stop with the paranoid hyperbole.

Re: Introducing the Shift Card: Use Bitcoin where Visa is accepted

#187

Post by toomim »

Retric wrote: post #38
ewillbefull wrote: post #19

You can now use Bitcoin anywhere VISA is accepted, so long as coinbase doesn't close your account, ignore you and close all the tickets you open. Even if you painstakingly collect and compile sensitive documents for them to review, which was a gigantic waste of my time, thanks! I have for months encouraged everyone I know not to use coinbase and will continue to do so.

Don't forget at a random exchange rate chosen by Coinbase.

Coinbase is an exchange, and the exchange rate is "chosen" by the traders who buy and sell on the exchange.

Re: Introducing the Shift Card: Use Bitcoin where Visa is accepted

#188

Post by jrockway »

simantel wrote: post #169
bpicolo wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For credit cards in the US you virtually never use a PIN. Debit cards only

That's changing as of this month. Most banks have already issued new chip cards, which require a PIN. If a merchant is still using the old swipe and sign system, now they'll be liable for any fraudulent transactions if the customer has a chip card.

The system in the US is not chip-and-PIN, it's chip-and-signature.

Re: Introducing the Shift Card: Use Bitcoin where Visa is accepted

#189

Post by hollerith »

simantel wrote: post #169
bpicolo wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For credit cards in the US you virtually never use a PIN. Debit cards only

That's changing as of this month. Most banks have already issued new chip cards, which require a PIN. If a merchant is still using the old swipe and sign system, now they'll be liable for any fraudulent transactions if the customer has a chip card.

All of the new chip cards in the US I've read about are signature only. It was decided that the US consumer would dislike the added complication of needing to use PIN.

I'd like a chip card that requires a PIN (and that is accepted widely in the US) because such a card would make unauthorized charges less likely after the card is lost or stolen, but was not able to find one.

Re: Introducing the Shift Card: Use Bitcoin where Visa is accepted

#190

Post by s73v3r »

mithaler wrote: post #121
Uptrenda wrote: post #114

I've always found it ironic how companies like Coinbase are indirectly contributing to their own destruction with every passing transaction that's not purely based around Bitcoin. This is of course: assuming that Bitcoin gets as big as a lot of people think it will. If it does: their increased focus on centralization and traditional fintech services (which is completely incompatible with the philosophy behind Bitcoin…

By this logic, Coinbase basically can't win. If they do what they need to do to allow Bitcoin to become popular -- that is, make it as pleasant to use as a bank with credit and debit cards -- they essentially become a bank, thus earning the scorn of the Bitcoin community. But if they don't, Bitcoin remains a niche product that no one besides a few ideological supporters with axes to grind will ever use.

But if they do that, they will potentially grow the Bitcoin community, and beyond those that scorn any kind of institution.
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