23 January 2014

Bitcoin MyWay Recharge?

| imagineteamsol
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Hey everyone,

We’re super excited to announce we’ve crossed the 50,000 active user mark for our MyBus 2.0 app.

We wanted to do something special to thank everyone for their support, and we got tired of waiting for the real-time feeds to become available (the launch date has been a roving target…), so we decided to focus our attention on the MyWay recharge.

We’re trying to see what we can do to let users recharge their MyWay card in real-time (think tap your card to your phone type thing) rather than wait for 3-5 business days, but while we try to find the legitimate way to do that, we were wondering if any of you would be interested in recharging your MyWay cards using Bitcoin? Asides from the novelty of the idea, we’re strong supporters of the currency, and would love to bring some legitimate use cases for Canberra. It would also be interesting as it’d be the first transport agency in the world that (indirectly) allowed for use of Bitcoin for public transport.

We’re rolling it out over the next week or two, but wanted to know if it was something anyone thought useful? If not, what would you like to see added?

Thanks everyone!

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imagineteamsol5:52 pm 30 Jan 14

davo101 said :

imagineteamsol said :

Firstly, our privacy policy is quite clear. http://imagineteamsolutions.com/privacypolicy/

Your definition of clear seems to deviate quite widely from mine. Is that something like a 2000 word paragraph? Where does it address my MyWay login details as compared with my MyBus login/account details? To quote your “about the app”:

Your MyWay login details are kept private only on your phone, and used only with the official MyWay service.

Or to put it another way: Bullshit.

imagineteamsol said :

Lastly, you do know that the whole point of the MyWay system was to collect information on your travel habits? Or do you wear a tinfoil hat?

I’m quite aware of that and I’m quite happy for the ACT Government to know which buses I use and when. As for you guys…….

We do exactly that: “Your MyWay login details are kept private only on your phone, and used only with the official MyWay service.” We pass them through and do not store them anywhere. If you’re uncomfortable using the app, or don’t understand what I am quite clearly saying, its a free app, don’t use it.

imagineteamsol said :

Firstly, our privacy policy is quite clear. http://imagineteamsolutions.com/privacypolicy/

Your definition of clear seems to deviate quite widely from mine. Is that something like a 2000 word paragraph? Where does it address my MyWay login details as compared with my MyBus login/account details? To quote your “about the app”:

Your MyWay login details are kept private only on your phone, and used only with the official MyWay service.

Or to put it another way: Bullshit.

imagineteamsol said :

Lastly, you do know that the whole point of the MyWay system was to collect information on your travel habits? Or do you wear a tinfoil hat?

I’m quite aware of that and I’m quite happy for the ACT Government to know which buses I use and when. As for you guys…….

imagineteamsol3:16 pm 30 Jan 14

davo101 said :

imagineteamsol said :

Our server processes a MyWay balance check every 0.8 seconds on average, with peak traffic hitting 2000 MyWay balance checks a minute.

WTF!? Where does it say in your terms and conditions that my login details are being sent through your server? Forget trusting you guys to handle my topups I’m uninstalling the App; I don’t want to be part of your data harvesting exercise thank you very much.

Firstly, our privacy policy is quite clear. http://imagineteamsolutions.com/privacypolicy/

Secondly, we don’t “harvest” anything. Your details are passed through our server, and the response is parsed to be passed back to the phone in a meaningful way. The information is only kept in memory for the time that it needs to be there (~half a second if I was to guess)

Lastly, you do know that the whole point of the MyWay system was to collect information on your travel habits? Or do you wear a tinfoil hat?

imagineteamsol said :

Our server processes a MyWay balance check every 0.8 seconds on average, with peak traffic hitting 2000 MyWay balance checks a minute.

WTF!? Where does it say in your terms and conditions that my login details are being sent through your server? Forget trusting you guys to handle my topups I’m uninstalling the App; I don’t want to be part of your data harvesting exercise thank you very much.

I’ve been also reading about bitcoin and the silk road website. Its very interesting, and the idea of a digital currency is great. I just cannot see it ever replacing hard currency in a digital form, because there are many issues that make a governments job more difficult. No doubt that is part of the reason it was created. Why not let people recharge with paypal or another digital payment platform. Just as easy and heaps more usable.

imagineteamsol11:20 pm 28 Jan 14

davo101 said :

But I can see how this is not an attractive option for you as there is no way for you guys to make money from this.

We never set out to make money from MyBus – the app is free. Our server processes a MyWay balance check every 0.8 seconds on average, with peak traffic hitting 2000 MyWay balance checks a minute. For this, we’re spending ~$100 a month of our own money on the server costs. We decided to go down the MyWay recharge road seeing that it didn’t cost anything for our users, and made it more sustainable for us to keep this in the long term. Obviously this doesn’t include the countless hours with people emailing/calling us for support, and the bug fixes and timetable updates.

If you’re going to complain about 5% that doesn’t cost you anything, I hardly think you’re keeping things in perspective/realising the real costs and efforts of keeping this all running.

imagineteamsol said :

I reiterate- we are a private business and the ACT Government has no part of MyBus. I also reiterate, what on earth is there to lose? For such negative backlash, you’d think there was some concrete negative outcome for all the whinging going on. People can recharge with BPay, Credit Card, Direct Debit, and in stores. Each have their pluses and minuses. How is anything but good that you can add Bitcoin as an option to all of that?

Keep things in perspective people

As several others have commented you are free to accept whatever you like as payment. You’re biggest stumbling block will be convincing the ACT Government to let you be a MyWay recharge agent.

As a user I would find that a far more useful feature would be to have the App tell me when my balance drops to a certain level so that I can recharge by BPay and get the 5% discount. But I can see how this is not an attractive option for you as there is no way for you guys to make money from this.

oh_ said :

Yes Bitcoin is a new phenomenom lots of people need to get their head around…

The people who have their head around it won’t touch it with the proverbial bargepole.

I think this is a great idea, and if a Canberra company pioneers it think of all the mass transit systems in the world it could be deployed to. We should be backing this peeps, not knocking it!

Yes Bitcoin is a new phenomenom lots of people need to get their head around, but in the early 1990s the internet and mobile phone were curiosities and people said then both were a waste of time…

Besides which my understanding is that the ACT Government wouldnt be taking any risk or exposing itself on this as what we’re talking about is a third party app that accepts bitcoin and credits your MyWay pretty much instantly by exchanging on the markets at live rates…just another payment option really.

This is all very interesting but how many of Canberra’s bus commuters do you realistically believe own bitcoin and wish to use it to pay for everyday things like bus tickets?

And of those who do, how many of them consider using AUD an actual difficulty or disadvantage?

Because if the answer is a very low number, you’re just throwing your budget at a curiosity.

imagineteamsol said :

Deref said :

+1 to that.

Bitcoin will end in tears for many and significant wealth for others. That’s life and adults can make their own decisions about it, but governments should avoid it like the very plague.

Replacing the word “Bitcoin” with AUD:

“AUD will end in tears for many and significant wealth for others. That’s life and adults can make their own decisions about it, but governments should avoid it like the very plague”

The first part makes sense, but the last part doesn’t really apply does it?

I reiterate- we are a private business and the ACT Government has no part of MyBus. I also reiterate, what on earth is there to lose? For such negative backlash, you’d think there was some concrete negative outcome for all the whinging going on. People can recharge with BPay, Credit Card, Direct Debit, and in stores. Each have their pluses and minuses. How is anything but good that you can add Bitcoin as an option to all of that?

Keep things in perspective people

It goes without saying – as a private business you can do what you like in that regard.

Governments, though, should be a little more responsible. Not that they necessarily are, of course.

imagineteamsol4:16 pm 25 Jan 14

LOVESPYLOVESPY said :

im the guy doing a chargeback on my bus fare

I’m the guy behind you on the bus watching your every move

imagineteamsol4:15 pm 25 Jan 14

Deref said :

+1 to that.

Bitcoin will end in tears for many and significant wealth for others. That’s life and adults can make their own decisions about it, but governments should avoid it like the very plague.

Replacing the word “Bitcoin” with AUD:

“AUD will end in tears for many and significant wealth for others. That’s life and adults can make their own decisions about it, but governments should avoid it like the very plague”

The first part makes sense, but the last part doesn’t really apply does it?

I reiterate- we are a private business and the ACT Government has no part of MyBus. I also reiterate, what on earth is there to lose? For such negative backlash, you’d think there was some concrete negative outcome for all the whinging going on. People can recharge with BPay, Credit Card, Direct Debit, and in stores. Each have their pluses and minuses. How is anything but good that you can add Bitcoin as an option to all of that?

Keep things in perspective people

Primal said :

If it’s not ‘legal tender’ by definition, no Australian government should be touching it with a billion-foot bargepole. Call it risk aversion if you will, I call it common sense.

+1 to that.

Bitcoin will end in tears for many and significant wealth for others. That’s life and adults can make their own decisions about it, but governments should avoid it like the very plague.

LOVESPYLOVESPY10:42 am 25 Jan 14

im the guy doing a chargeback on my bus fare

imagineteamsol said :

davo101 said :

You’re almost out by a factor of 4 there. Credit card merchant costs are 0.81% and falling.

Dead link.

No, just munged by WordPress. I’m sure a clever IT chap should be able the guess what the original URL was 😉

imagineteamsol said :

Also you’re missing the cost associated with merchant accounts, chargebacks, and an average of 3 day settlement periods (ignoring the time it actually takes to get into a bank account).

No it includes all of the merchant costs, that’s the point of the statistic. You do seem to be obsessed with charge backs. From what I’ve seen in several places is that if you charge backs start going over 1% Visa and Mastercard will terminate your credit facility. So at worst it can’t be costing the ACT Government more than 1.8%. Not only that but if they do get a charge back on a MyWay topup then I would assume that they just cancel the MyWay account.

Mordd said :

Where do you get your info from?

Err, from a working knowledge of the English language. Try taking a deep breath and then look fiat up in a dictionary.

Mordd said :

Now how about you show a source for your wacky form of the truth?

What, you mean other than knowing what the word fiat and the word money mean? How about any economics textbook selected at random (like this or this) or maybe see what the Financial Times thinks or perhaps just look it up in the dictionary.

imagineteamsol said :

Not sure where you got that from. Theres a number of BTC to AUD services. Look at CoinJar.

Oops, I misread post #22. Apologies.

Mordd said :

Let’s go to the biggest source of data on the net and see what Wikipedia has to say and wether it backs up my stance or yours:
.

oh jesus christ.

There are just not enough positives IMO to accept BitCoin over traditional currency.
Would anyone rather be paid in BitCoins over dollars?

Thus why would anyone convert money to BitCoin other than as a speculative investment to try and make money. That is the key here, the only reason it exists is for someone to try and make more money. As a daily currency I don’t see it having any place whatsoever. Technically any currency could go electronic only and we are headed that way anyway.

I’ve looked into it and it really doesn’t offer that much IMO, I’d be surprised if it does much more than it does now. Kind of like linux as an operating system. It exists because not everyone likes what the majority of people use, so they go for a smaller alternative. And there are plenty of alternatives to BitCoin and they have been set up because the founders are the ones who make the money, everyone else just buys into it hoping to make money.

imagineteamsol11:50 am 24 Jan 14

davo101 said :

You’re almost out by a factor of 4 there. Credit card merchant costs are 0.81% and falling.

Dead link. Also you’re missing the cost associated with merchant accounts, chargebacks, and an average of 3 day settlement periods (ignoring the time it actually takes to get into a bank account).

imagineteamsol11:48 am 24 Jan 14

m_ratt said :

So you are considering becoming an independent intermediary, accepting bitcoin as payment and then making real AU dollar recharges on the payer’s MyWay Card?

How much volatility would you expect there would be on the BitCoin price for a nominal average AU$20 recharge? Especially given the volatility of the AUD vs the USD and the previously identified lack of a mechanism to directly exchange BTC for AUD.

Not a business model that I’d consider using as a client, let alone to try to stand up as a business. Best of luck to you.

Not sure where you got that from. Theres a number of BTC to AUD services. Look at CoinJar.

Also, like I said, the volatility is something to be mindful of, but not something we’re concerned about because of the speed of the transaction we process.

c_c™ said :

Masquara said :

Ask the Greens! They support the drug trade!

Not too fond of capitalism either: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152183727124470&set=a.10150326711144470.368416.17351204469&type=1&stream_ref=10

Suppose they’d prefer toilet paper queues and beige Ladas

Fail.

wildturkeycanoe7:15 am 24 Jan 14

How much recharge would you get on your card for a kilo of tomatoes?

davo101 said :

Mordd said :

And to those saying Bitcoin is not a currency – it is a fiat currency just like the money we use every day.

It is not. Fiat means authoritative decree as in “he ruled by fiat”, fiat money is money that has value by means of fiat (such as this). Bitcoins are money but not fiat money. If anything Bitcoins are just a modern form of rai stones: they’re hard to make, there is a limited number that you can make, they have no intrinsic value, and they’re traded virtually (ie: people only swapped ownership they didn’t actually move them). Perhaps we could convince the ACT Government to let us top up our MyWays with rai stones.

Mordd said :

Some RiotACT readers could do well to educate themselves better about Bitcoin imho.

Yes, they probably should.

Bulls***! Where do you get your info from? Let’s go to the biggest source of data on the net and see what Wikipedia has to say and wether it backs up my stance or yours:

Fiat money has been defined variously as:

any money declared by a government to be legal tender.[1]
state-issued money which is neither convertible by law to any other thing, nor fixed in value in terms of any objective standard.[2]
money without intrinsic value.[3][4]

The term derives from the Latin fiat (“let it be done”, “it shall be”).[5]

While gold- or silver-backed representative money entails the legal requirement that the bank of issue redeem it in fixed weights of gold or silver, fiat money’s value is unrelated to the value of any physical quantity. Even a coin containing valuable metal may be considered fiat currency if its face value is defined by law as different from its market value as metal.

The Nixon Shock of 1971 ended the direct convertibility of the United States dollar to gold. Since then, all reserve currencies have been fiat currencies, including the U.S. dollar and the Euro.[6]

So lets see that seems to suggest the definition of Fiat currency I quoted was fairly spot on, and that Bitcoin does qualify as a Fiat currency.

Now how about you show a source for your wacky form of the truth? And try and quote from a well known source please like I did, except im betting the only source you will find to agree with your false view is as obscure as they get.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_currency

I don’t have to be an economist to know how to understand what a Fiat currency is.

Masquara said :

Ask the Greens! They support the drug trade!

Not too fond of capitalism either: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152183727124470&set=a.10150326711144470.368416.17351204469&type=1&stream_ref=10

Suppose they’d prefer toilet paper queues and beige Ladas

Pork Hunt said :

poetix said :

Pork Hunt said :

Long live the Gyppo pound!

Have none of you a soft spot for the dong?

Or a liking for the Lek?

There is nothing quite as wonderful as money…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sor9GzivGbk

Ask the Greens! They support the drug trade!

poetix said :

Pork Hunt said :

imagineteamsol said :

Smackbang said :

I’m just amused by the concept of being a “strong supporter” of a currency.

Go euro! Three cheers for the dollar!

I’m more partial to the Greek Drachma myself

Long live the Gyppo pound!

Have none of you a soft spot for the dong?

Or a liking for the Lek?

imagineteamsol said :

I want to point out that MyBus is not an ACT government product, and the bitcoin recharge service is not something associated with or commissioned by the ACT government..

So you are considering becoming an independent intermediary, accepting bitcoin as payment and then making real AU dollar recharges on the payer’s MyWay Card?

How much volatility would you expect there would be on the BitCoin price for a nominal average AU$20 recharge? Especially given the volatility of the AUD vs the USD and the previously identified lack of a mechanism to directly exchange BTC for AUD.

Not a business model that I’d consider using as a client, let alone to try to stand up as a business. Best of luck to you.

Pork Hunt said :

imagineteamsol said :

Smackbang said :

I’m just amused by the concept of being a “strong supporter” of a currency.

Go euro! Three cheers for the dollar!

I’m more partial to the Greek Drachma myself

Long live the Gyppo pound!

Have none of you a soft spot for the dong?

Bitcoin is old-hat. How about Dogecoin?

Smackbang said :

I’m just amused by the concept of being a “strong supporter” of a currency.

Go euro! Three cheers for the dollar!

Historically, some enjoyed backing a dump.

johnboy said :

on the other hand flying cars remain a bad investment.

haha, though just think of the possibilities for Bad Parking Mondays if that changed!

Woody Mann-Caruso7:39 pm 23 Jan 14

ITT: the direct descendants of people who said things like ‘Electricity is like having lightning in your house, and who would want that?’ and ‘If we were meant to have this wheel thing, Enlil wouldn’t have given us legs’.

on the other hand flying cars remain a bad investment.

imagineteamsol said :

Smackbang said :

I’m just amused by the concept of being a “strong supporter” of a currency.

Go euro! Three cheers for the dollar!

I’m more partial to the Greek Drachma myself

Long live the Gyppo pound!

imagineteamsol6:24 pm 23 Jan 14

Smackbang said :

I’m just amused by the concept of being a “strong supporter” of a currency.

Go euro! Three cheers for the dollar!

I’m more partial to the Greek Drachma myself

imagineteamsol6:16 pm 23 Jan 14

I want to point out that MyBus is not an ACT government product, and the bitcoin recharge service is not something associated with or commissioned by the ACT government..

I’m just amused by the concept of being a “strong supporter” of a currency.

Go euro! Three cheers for the dollar!

Mordd said :

Well reading this just shows how grossly ignorant the majority of RiotACT readers are regarding Bitcoin and how it works, which is a shame, I would have expected more educated responses here but oh well.

To point out a practical issue rather than a moral/philosophical one – there are almost no bitcoin exchanges that allow AUD > Bitcoin or Bitcoin > AUD transactions, meaning you would need to convert AUD to USD first, then to Bitcoin to use this.

Although I fully support bitcoin as a concept, I don’t think there is a practical benefit to the OP proposal at this stage, mainly due to the limited use of Bitcoin in Australia so far compared to the USA or Europe.

And to those saying Bitcoin is not a currency – it is a fiat currency just like the money we use every day. Apart from the fact that the US Government recognised at as a currency a few months ago – http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/08/federal-judge-bitcoin-a-currency-can-be-regulated-under-american-law/ – there is also this explanation which might make more sense to some readers:

[blockquote]Bitcoiners famously like to talk about the fact that like most modern currencies (like the US dollar or the euro), it’s a fiat currency. It essentially works on faith. There’s nothing inherently valuable about a piece of computer code more than a piece of green paper. We know that $1 is worth $1 because that’s what we’ve decided as a society. I get paid in dollars, and I can buy stuff with dollars. There are shops on the Internet and in real life that will take my physical paper dollars and my digital (debit/credit card) dollars. We have an innate sense of what things are worth because of it. By contrast, precious metals like silver and gold also have inherent worth too, but that’s more due to their industrial and aesthetic properties. Bitcoins are physically just bits of code.[/blockquote]

So yes Bitcoin is a fiat currency like AUD or USD, although some of its early behavior might have more closely reflected an amortized security or derivative, it is at the end clearly a fiat currency. Some RiotACT readers could do well to educate themselves better about Bitcoin imho.

Fail.

Mordd said :

And to those saying Bitcoin is not a currency – it is a fiat currency just like the money we use every day.

It is not. Fiat means authoritative decree as in “he ruled by fiat”, fiat money is money that has value by means of fiat (such as this). Bitcoins are money but not fiat money. If anything Bitcoins are just a modern form of rai stones: they’re hard to make, there is a limited number that you can make, they have no intrinsic value, and they’re traded virtually (ie: people only swapped ownership they didn’t actually move them). Perhaps we could convince the ACT Government to let us top up our MyWays with rai stones.

Mordd said :

Some RiotACT readers could do well to educate themselves better about Bitcoin imho.

Yes, they probably should.

imagineteamsol said :

poetix said :

Don’t ask for opinions and then criticise those that are more than ‘Wow, great’.

Not asking for “Wow, great!” comments, rather looking for informed opinions with the context as a part of it. “Bitcoin is dangerous” or “Bitcoin sucks” isn’t an opinion thats relevant unless you explain how its being so is relevant to using for MyWay recharging.

Thanks for the advice to avoid moral, social and political issues in responses. I’ll ignore it, but thanks.

Bitcoin is definitely the way forward for all you hipsters. As a public service, I am quite happy to come around to collect all your unwanted dollars.

Well reading this just shows how grossly ignorant the majority of RiotACT readers are regarding Bitcoin and how it works, which is a shame, I would have expected more educated responses here but oh well.

To point out a practical issue rather than a moral/philosophical one – there are almost no bitcoin exchanges that allow AUD > Bitcoin or Bitcoin > AUD transactions, meaning you would need to convert AUD to USD first, then to Bitcoin to use this.

Although I fully support bitcoin as a concept, I don’t think there is a practical benefit to the OP proposal at this stage, mainly due to the limited use of Bitcoin in Australia so far compared to the USA or Europe.

And to those saying Bitcoin is not a currency – it is a fiat currency just like the money we use every day. Apart from the fact that the US Government recognised at as a currency a few months ago – http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/08/federal-judge-bitcoin-a-currency-can-be-regulated-under-american-law/ – there is also this explanation which might make more sense to some readers:

[blockquote]Bitcoiners famously like to talk about the fact that like most modern currencies (like the US dollar or the euro), it’s a fiat currency. It essentially works on faith. There’s nothing inherently valuable about a piece of computer code more than a piece of green paper. We know that $1 is worth $1 because that’s what we’ve decided as a society. I get paid in dollars, and I can buy stuff with dollars. There are shops on the Internet and in real life that will take my physical paper dollars and my digital (debit/credit card) dollars. We have an innate sense of what things are worth because of it. By contrast, precious metals like silver and gold also have inherent worth too, but that’s more due to their industrial and aesthetic properties. Bitcoins are physically just bits of code.[/blockquote]

So yes Bitcoin is a fiat currency like AUD or USD, although some of its early behavior might have more closely reflected an amortized security or derivative, it is at the end clearly a fiat currency. Some RiotACT readers could do well to educate themselves better about Bitcoin imho.

I’ve had some conversations with people about the flaming hoops of fire that would need to be leapt through to get paypal available for ACT Gov payments (something I would find handy because I’m too lazy to get out of my armchair and find my credit card when I need to pay something). Not as easy as you’d think. In my very humble opinion, you haven’t got a hope in hell of getting bitcoin approved.

johnboy said :

Well, the Winklevii were right about facebook 😉

(I wish people would steal my ideas, do that hard work of building them, and pay me out millions down the track)

They came up with an idea for a Harvard online community that they totally botched up development of, letting it go through a series of cheap developers while being lazy with the intellectual property, letting someone take it with ease. Really the folks you want to rely on for your financial security?

More I wish Mark Zuckerberg would steal some of my ideas.

I love how some deluded people have taken to thinking BitCoin is a ‘currency.’ It isn’t, it’s one of several crypto-currencies whose purpose is to anonymise transactions. The media has latched on to it because it has a large share and a catchy name, but it’s not unique or novel. And yes some folks are now speculating on it, trying to make it more, but ask yourself, do you really want to be a part of something the Winklevoss Twins think is a good idea?

Well, the Winklevii were right about facebook 😉

(I wish people would steal my ideas, do that hard work of building them, and pay me out millions down the track)

JackW01 said :

I am more inclined to forget my wallet rather than my phone.

Suddenly I feel very old.

If it’s not ‘legal tender’ by definition, no Australian government should be touching it with a billion-foot bargepole. Call it risk aversion if you will, I call it common sense.

The Commonwealth Bank’s new app and smart stickers (for mobile phones) could be technology to look to. It allows users to pay wave with their phones and send funds to others using mobile numbers or Facebook https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6Eir3x-3BA&feature=player_embedded

I don’t use Action busses though would be great to pay (for small purchases) with my phone. I am more inclined to forget my wallet rather than my phone.

imagineteamsol said :

– Considering Credit Card processing fees are upward of 3% per transaction

You’re almost out by a factor of 4 there. Credit card merchant costs are 0.81% and falling.

imagineteamsol said :

The volatility is over-hyped. Bitcoin certainly isn’t as stable as the dollar

That certainly is an understatement, Bitcoins are as close to being a currency as Picasso sketches are, they have value in so much as you being able to find someone else who take it in exchange for something you want.

imagineteamsol said :

At the very least, its another way to recharge your MyWay card.

You can currently apply to have your MyWay card autoloaded when the balance drops to $10 and they give you a 5% discount. I’m not entirely sure setting up the ACT Government as a laundering service for Bitcoins is an improvement on the current options.

LOVESPYLOVESPY12:20 pm 23 Jan 14

I fail to see how a low adoption, volatile, dangerous by design currency should be even considered for a government application.

The only possible positives to using bitcoin are the lack of fees, which is normally largely nullified by the payment processor at play, or even by any fees that an exchange takes for the purchase of bitcoin. “Bitcoin has no fees” is a load of crap – sure it doesn’t have any by design, but neither does the dollar.

Bitcoin, while a fundamentally secure protocol, also falls flat in that it relies fully on your own (usually ridiculous) security measures to keep your money secure. The security of your funds is guaranteed by no one. Money goes missing from someone’s wallet, hosted on a exchange? Service provider simply says “tough”. Invisible hand I guess. There is no fraud protection in place for the CONSUMER.

I fail to see why charge backs are considered an issue – they exist as a consumer protection.

Not to mention – how could the government possibly cash out 40k a week at market value in a timely, effective manner?

It has been proven by large websites like reddit that the cost of receiving bitcoin, with the additional work required, was more than the amount of profit actually made from bitcoin.

Sounds interesting, would pay with Bitcoin if given the option.

imagineteamsol10:49 am 23 Jan 14

poetix said :

Don’t ask for opinions and then criticise those that are more than ‘Wow, great’.

Not asking for “Wow, great!” comments, rather looking for informed opinions with the context as a part of it. “Bitcoin is dangerous” or “Bitcoin sucks” isn’t an opinion thats relevant unless you explain how its being so is relevant to using for MyWay recharging.

imagineteamsol said :

Sheesh such negativity.

We’re well aware of bitcoin’s shortcomings, but we wouldn’t have done this if there wasn’t reasons that make it worth it. Specifically:

– Considering Credit Card processing fees are upward of 3% per transaction, the ACT Government must be spending a fortune. A conservative estimate of $40,000 a week means the ACT Government would pay `~$1200 a week in fees alone. This isn’t even considering costs for charge-backs and fraud. Bitcoin fees average at 1%, and can technically be free if you set it up yourself.
– The volatility is over-hyped. Bitcoin certainly isn’t as stable as the dollar, but the likelihood that the value changes significantly within a 10 minute window is non-significant. Certainly not enough to offset the benefit of no charge-backs and reduced fees.
– Perhaps most obviously, there is no risk, only benefit. If you use Bitcoin to recharge your MyWay card, who loses? It may not be an ideal currency, but we’re talking about recharging a MyWay card, not using it ubiquitously for everything ever. At the very least, its another way to recharge your MyWay card.

Don’t ask for opinions and then criticise those that are more than ‘Wow, great’.

There is no way that an ACT government service should be associated with bitcoin.

imagineteamsol10:17 am 23 Jan 14

astrojax said :

which bit of my coin will recharge my myway card?

The doge side

imagineteamsol10:17 am 23 Jan 14

Sheesh such negativity.

We’re well aware of bitcoin’s shortcomings, but we wouldn’t have done this if there wasn’t reasons that make it worth it. Specifically:

– Considering Credit Card processing fees are upward of 3% per transaction, the ACT Government must be spending a fortune. A conservative estimate of $40,000 a week means the ACT Government would pay `~$1200 a week in fees alone. This isn’t even considering costs for charge-backs and fraud. Bitcoin fees average at 1%, and can technically be free if you set it up yourself.
– The volatility is over-hyped. Bitcoin certainly isn’t as stable as the dollar, but the likelihood that the value changes significantly within a 10 minute window is non-significant. Certainly not enough to offset the benefit of no charge-backs and reduced fees.
– Perhaps most obviously, there is no risk, only benefit. If you use Bitcoin to recharge your MyWay card, who loses? It may not be an ideal currency, but we’re talking about recharging a MyWay card, not using it ubiquitously for everything ever. At the very least, its another way to recharge your MyWay card.

yeah the whole nature of Bitcoin is dodgy. Its all about bypassing laws.

Personally I’d settle for air conditioning / heating on all buses more than being able to reload instantly.

OMG!! We’re still paying for Rhodium and the solar panels fiasco, the last thing the ACT Government should have anything to do with is anything as dodgy and volatile as Bitcoin.

which bit of my coin will recharge my myway card?

johnboy said :

Before anyone gets too enthusiastic about bitcoin I recommend Charles Stross’ take on it.

Or this FAQ.

Before anyone gets too enthusiastic about bitcoin I recommend Charles Stross’ take on it.

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