Live data from Hacker News

Bitcoin Visa debit cards are cancelled

reddit.com

11–20 of 194 posts

Re: Bitcoin Visa debit cards are cancelled

#11
post #7
post #4

I think this will be good in the long run. If VISA (and Mastercard) end up allowing Bitcoin affiliated payments through their platform, then merchants will end up not providing native support for crypto payments, as they can just use their current infrastructure. If we want to destroy these payment monopolies in place of a (more, but I understand not completely) decentralized system, we need to encourage merchants to…

Ah, another classic "This is good for Bitcoin"

I didn't see it that way, more like advocating the development of some kind of open, permissionless payment network. Bitcoin could be it but it has ridiculous network fees, which opens the possibilities for challengers. If everything works very fluently with the traditional payment infrastructure, there is no big demand for that kind of payment network, and no incentives to develop it.

Re: Bitcoin Visa debit cards are cancelled

#12
post #4

I think this will be good in the long run. If VISA (and Mastercard) end up allowing Bitcoin affiliated payments through their platform, then merchants will end up not providing native support for crypto payments, as they can just use their current infrastructure. If we want to destroy these payment monopolies in place of a (more, but I understand not completely) decentralized system, we need to encourage merchants to…

I can’t wait to wait 3 days and spend $30 in transaction fees to buy a Big Mac.

Re: Bitcoin Visa debit cards are cancelled

#13
All bitcoin visa cards? My understanding is that bitcoin Visa was already restricted to European countries since September:

https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-debit-cards-non-european-re...

Mastercard joined:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/75gu4d/mastercard_...

So, now only Bitcoin Mastercard remains for European countries?

Edit: Added "Bitcoin" to make sure the gentleman below is not confused.

Re: Bitcoin Visa debit cards are cancelled

#14
post #4

I think this will be good in the long run. If VISA (and Mastercard) end up allowing Bitcoin affiliated payments through their platform, then merchants will end up not providing native support for crypto payments, as they can just use their current infrastructure. If we want to destroy these payment monopolies in place of a (more, but I understand not completely) decentralized system, we need to encourage merchants to…

You can't have it both ways

I'm sure a lot of people said "this is good for bitcoin" when they launched this

Looking forward to read how having long confirmation times, high fees and high volatility is good for bitcoin

Re: Bitcoin Visa debit cards are cancelled

#15
post #4

I think this will be good in the long run. If VISA (and Mastercard) end up allowing Bitcoin affiliated payments through their platform, then merchants will end up not providing native support for crypto payments, as they can just use their current infrastructure. If we want to destroy these payment monopolies in place of a (more, but I understand not completely) decentralized system, we need to encourage merchants to…

I can’t wait to wait 3 days and spend $30 in transaction fees to buy a Big Mac.

for now, but in 2-3 years, you won't, with lighting and schnoor, etc. same as cars eg. there are no roads, are noisy, cost more than a horse, are just a fad, etc.

Re: Bitcoin Visa debit cards are cancelled

#16
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't imagine they wouldn't be. There's a lot of gray/black money in bitcoin, and it has to get on the grid somehow. A debit card you can spend anywhere is a dream come true for that.

Big payment networks do not want to appear complicit in money laundering.

HSBC/RBS/Citi were fine with it; and given the amount of the fines, it was plenty profitable and they’re likely still doing it.

Re: Bitcoin Visa debit cards are cancelled

#17
post #4

I think this will be good in the long run. If VISA (and Mastercard) end up allowing Bitcoin affiliated payments through their platform, then merchants will end up not providing native support for crypto payments, as they can just use their current infrastructure. If we want to destroy these payment monopolies in place of a (more, but I understand not completely) decentralized system, we need to encourage merchants to…

I don't see this happening for bitcoin, though (or maybe for online orders, which don't need to be instant).

Two years ago, I got sick of banks whose services I found of lesser and lesser quality, and tried a bitcoin/VISA debit card, just to see if it was working. The idea was this: I make a bitcoin transaction to add bitcoins in card provider wallet, and when transaction is complete, I could exchange it for fiat that I could use with my card.

"when transaction is complete" is the culprint :) I needed to have fiat in the card so that payments to a cashier was instant. If you remove that step, transaction delays make it not realistic for buying stuff while outdoor, especially given current delays (but even two years ago, it wouldn't do).

So, for bitcoin to work without VISA (or alike) as third party, bitcoin will first need to find a way to make transactions instant.

The alternative, obviously, being to use it for purchases where transaction delay doesn't matter (like online purchases), or to use an other cryptocurrency for that.

Re: Bitcoin Visa debit cards are cancelled

#18
post #4

I think this will be good in the long run. If VISA (and Mastercard) end up allowing Bitcoin affiliated payments through their platform, then merchants will end up not providing native support for crypto payments, as they can just use their current infrastructure. If we want to destroy these payment monopolies in place of a (more, but I understand not completely) decentralized system, we need to encourage merchants to…

I don't see this happening for bitcoin, though (or maybe for online orders, which don't need to be instant). Two years ago, I got sick of banks whose services I found of lesser and lesser quality, and tried a bitcoin/VISA debit card, just to see if it was working. The idea was this: I make a bitcoin transaction to add bitcoins in card provider wallet, and when transaction is complete, I could exchange it for fiat tha…

For online payments instant payments are actually not that important requirements. The process needs to happen just fluently from customers perspective. If the merchant is dispatching physical items, he can just wait for the transaction to confirm and dispatch the items after that. The customer won't see much difference because the biggest issue is the shipping time.

For online payments bitcoin works quite well. Still credit cards are often better for the consumer, because of the consumer protection (chargebacks).

Re: Bitcoin Visa debit cards are cancelled

#19

All bitcoin visa cards? My understanding is that bitcoin Visa was already restricted to European countries since September: https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-debit-cards-non-european-re... Mastercard joined: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/75gu4d/mastercard_... So, now only Bitcoin Mastercard remains for European countries? Edit: Added "Bitcoin" to make sure the gentleman below is not confused.

Correction: Cards issued by bitcoin services were terminated.

Visa works perfectly fine like it always did. Let's not mix things up.

Re: Bitcoin Visa debit cards are cancelled

#20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see this happening for bitcoin, though (or maybe for online orders, which don't need to be instant). Two years ago, I got sick of banks whose services I found of lesser and lesser quality, and tried a bitcoin/VISA debit card, just to see if it was working. The idea was this: I make a bitcoin transaction to add bitcoins in card provider wallet, and when transaction is complete, I could exchange it for fiat tha…

For online payments instant payments are actually not that important requirements. The process needs to happen just fluently from customers perspective. If the merchant is dispatching physical items, he can just wait for the transaction to confirm and dispatch the items after that. The customer won't see much difference because the biggest issue is the shipping time. For online payments bitcoin works quite well. Stil…

Which is why I mentioned the distinction :)
Post reply on HN