I’ve just caught this one from other bitcoin news websites. Diamond Circle announced yesterday the launch of world’s first cashless bitcoin ATM, which is installed at the Bluff Café in Burleigh Heads (in Queensland, Australia).
In order to make use of the ATM, one must first open an account, which will dispense a bitcoin debit card for $5.00. At the same time, customers using the ATM are able to purchase bitcoins using their credit card, which eliminates the need for carrying around cash. Customers are also able to “top up” and review their balances in a speedy five seconds.
If you’re wondering what kind of credit cards the ATM supports, as of right now it’s VISA and MasterCard. Here’s what Diamond Circle has to say:
[blockquote style=”2″]The process is easy for the general public and thrifty travellers who want to only exchange once. Unlike other Bitcoin ATM’s, the machine only supports Visa and Mastercard for the purchase of Bitcoin and cards thus, reducing security threats, the cost of holding cash, thus increasing margins and ongoing residual payments to distributors and owner/operators. The system has technology and a process that reduces the risk of chargebacks on the company and AML/KYC processes are variable by region ($5,000 in AU per customer requires no KYC). The machine accepts retail barcode scanners which allow consumers to check out purchases without operator assistance.[/blockquote]
They add:
[blockquote style=”2″][A] money transfer option will allow Bitcoins to be sent to anyone for cashing out via SMS. The NFC debit cards are Apple SDK capabilities dependent on iPhone 6 which has NFC. They work like Bank PayWave. The company also plans to sell card readers which can be used at Gas stations, parking meters, mass transit including taxi cabs and by the local trader without a cash risk. [/blockquote]
Diamond Circle says they’re now at work on point-of-sale applications that will allow for bitcoin purchases and balance reviews using NFC-capable devices (like some Android phones, for example).
Click here to read Diamond Circle’s full post.