4 ms·

I think the hardest part of "trying bitcoin" is quite simply converting any native currency into bitcoin. The last time i looked into it from a GBP perspective,

I think the hardest part of "trying bitcoin" is quite simply converting any native currency into bitcoin. The last time i looked into it from a GBP perspective, it was a major pain in the butt. If i could buy bitcoin with my CC online like i can pay for anything else with my CC online, then there'd be a lower barrier of entry.

RossM 13y ago
Had the same experience (also UK). At some point, there was a service to exchange to BTC via Barclays Pingit [0] - it wasn't working when I tried a while ago but seems open now. [0]: https://blockchain.info/wallet/deposit-pingit https://blockchain.info/wallet/deposit-pingit
jedunnigan 13y ago
The difficulty with that is the reversibility of CC payments. A user could buy coins using their CC, then go to the CC provider claim they were scammed and get not only the coins they bought but also their original payment. This is why you should not buy BTC with services like PayPal. There are a number of services that will be opening their doors in the coming months that will lower the barriers to fiat <--> btc conversion.
- JoshTriplett 13y ago
  > This is why you should not buy BTC with services like PayPal. Sell, not buy. There's no obvious risk to buying BTC with PayPal, if anyone is foolish enough to sell them that way.
  - jedunnigan 13y ago
    You are right, I mixed that up. Thanks.
runeks 13y ago
The general problem with buying bitcoins with credit cards is the fungibility of the good you're buying. In other words, bitcoins are so fungible that buying them with credit cards becomes a problem. When buying anything else with bitcoin, it's generally hard to resell the item, and make your money back. With the amount of credit card fraud, buying bitcoins with a stolen credit card would mean sites offering this service would have too many chargebacks, and they would have to charge a 5% fee on top of the 3% VISA already takes. Few people are going to want to pay an 8% markup on money. Money has a very definite price, they're not like other goods. You can see that you're paying a hefty markup, and people don't like that. Bitstamp allows you to buy bitcoins by wiring money to them: https://www.bitstamp.net/help/how-to-buy/ https://www.bitstamp.net/help/how-to-buy/ It might be me, but I really don't see why wiring money is so hard. I just log into my online banking site and set it up, takes a couple of minutes.
- hanley 13y ago
  The term "wiring money" still has a connotation of being complicated, probably from all the movies and TV shows that mention wiring money in exchange for hostages, etc. I wish people would just refer to it as a bank transfer.
- foxylad 13y ago
  Off topic... wiring DOES seem hard. I'm from NZ, where it's very common to do an EFT payment to another bank account. We do this for paying bills, giving money to friends, and even paying for online purchases. I recently set up a US bank account at Wells Fargo. Today I needed to pay someone (in the US) from it, and after fruitlessly searching for a way to transfer money to another account was told by customer support that the only solution was to do a wire transfer. At a cost of $35 and having to visit a branch to set this up. They did have something called SurePay that involved sending someone an email or SMS message, but my beneficiary is a corporate so this isn't really an option. SurePay also seems to be limited to very small amounts. Given this is free and simple to do in every other country I've banked in (NZ, Aus, UK and Canada), I'm still suspicious that I'm missing a something on the internet banking website. Any suggestions?

RossM 13y ago

Had the same experience (also UK). At some point, there was a service to exchange to BTC via Barclays Pingit [0] - it wasn't working when I tried a while ago but seems open now. [0]: https://blockchain.info/wallet/deposit-pingit https://blockchain.info/wallet/deposit-pingit

jedunnigan 13y ago

The difficulty with that is the reversibility of CC payments. A user could buy coins using their CC, then go to the CC provider claim they were scammed and get not only the coins they bought but also their original payment. This is why you should not buy BTC with services like PayPal. There are a number of services that will be opening their doors in the coming months that will lower the barriers to fiat <--> btc conversion.

JoshTriplett 13y ago
> This is why you should not buy BTC with services like PayPal. Sell, not buy. There's no obvious risk to buying BTC with PayPal, if anyone is foolish enough to sell them that way.
- jedunnigan 13y ago
  You are right, I mixed that up. Thanks.

runeks 13y ago

The general problem with buying bitcoins with credit cards is the fungibility of the good you're buying. In other words, bitcoins are so fungible that buying them with credit cards becomes a problem. When buying anything else with bitcoin, it's generally hard to resell the item, and make your money back. With the amount of credit card fraud, buying bitcoins with a stolen credit card would mean sites offering this service would have too many chargebacks, and they would have to charge a 5% fee on top of the 3% VISA already takes. Few people are going to want to pay an 8% markup on money. Money has a very definite price, they're not like other goods. You can see that you're paying a hefty markup, and people don't like that. Bitstamp allows you to buy bitcoins by wiring money to them: https://www.bitstamp.net/help/how-to-buy/ https://www.bitstamp.net/help/how-to-buy/ It might be me, but I really don't see why wiring money is so hard. I just log into my online banking site and set it up, takes a couple of minutes.

hanley 13y ago
The term "wiring money" still has a connotation of being complicated, probably from all the movies and TV shows that mention wiring money in exchange for hostages, etc. I wish people would just refer to it as a bank transfer.
foxylad 13y ago
Off topic... wiring DOES seem hard. I'm from NZ, where it's very common to do an EFT payment to another bank account. We do this for paying bills, giving money to friends, and even paying for online purchases. I recently set up a US bank account at Wells Fargo. Today I needed to pay someone (in the US) from it, and after fruitlessly searching for a way to transfer money to another account was told by customer support that the only solution was to do a wire transfer. At a cost of $35 and having to visit a branch to set this up. They did have something called SurePay that involved sending someone an email or SMS message, but my beneficiary is a corporate so this isn't really an option. SurePay also seems to be limited to very small amounts. Given this is free and simple to do in every other country I've banked in (NZ, Aus, UK and Canada), I'm still suspicious that I'm missing a something on the internet banking website. Any suggestions?