I hope it's for real.
I was just looking for a backup debit card for international travel. This would give me a low-risk but high-utility reason to finally try bitcoin. And avoid opening another damn bank account
I was just looking for a backup debit card for international travel. This would give me a low-risk but high-utility reason to finally try bitcoin. And avoid opening another damn bank account
I think BitInstant is not special in this sense, they promised bitcoin to cash withdrawals like months ago but haven't managed to ship it.
When was the last time you walked into a bank with a checking account question? You are here on HN so I assume it is rarely or never
But...it's a debit account, so if you need a credit card this may not fit your use case.
(As an aside - never never change cash for travelling abroad, the commissions/spreads are ridiculous)
As for bitcoin, I feel that the volatility with respect to regular currency make a debit card not that useful unless you're an ideologue or want to speculate/easily get cash out
And do you really need a bank account per credit/debit card? I'd assume you have "external" credit/debit cards, where the only connection to the account is that it is charged monthly.
That said I have looked into cards with no foreign transaction fees for future international travel. They do exist, but one more issue is making sure they support "chip and pin" for European countries.
Using cards internationally can be hit or miss.
- You never know when you'll have a fraud alert and a disabled card. When you're travelling overseas, even if you call ahead to notify the card company, you're a lot more likely to get a fraud alert. You know how you can get stuck on hold with your card company, lost in touch-tone hell? Well imagine that on cell phone roaming charges with a dying battery on a noisy street corner.
- You never know what will be accepted. Some machines only take chip and PIN (which is the norm in Europe and Asia, they think signing a receipt is weird), sometimes a clerk doesn't know how to do chip and sign or swipe and sign (which is universal here in the US).
- Most of all, you're in a country where you dont speak the language, the ATMs look different, you might not be able to read the signs or even have a conversation with a cab driver.
When your card gets rejected, you want to have a backup. So, two credit cards (from two different providers) and two debit cards (from two different providers).
How about £0? That's a solved problem too. In the parts of the world with a working, modernized banking system and proper competition.
I could chose to be part of those who got charged £1. I chose not to, and so did so many others, that where I live, finding a bank which charges you money at all to withdraw anywhere in the world is the exception, not the rule.
There may be merits to bitcoin (although I do admit I have very little knowledge, insight or understanding of the system), but you don't need it to have working banking institutions and free trade. That I do know.
Is it the same for my mother's credit card she got at the supermarker for club discounts? Probably not, but she uses another one outside the supermarket.
[0] There is probably some hidden fee in the conversion rate, but it seems to me a fair conversion rate, not unlike I would get at the post office.
[1] Personal cards