Now I know, many of you live in the United States, but I am in South Africa, so I need to wait 6 weeks for shipping.
Anyways, let's get to the details. I will be speaking for myself in terms of fees, since where I live, pricing of things would probably differ quite a bit. Crypto-currencies are not as popular here, than some other parts of the world. We don't have any Bitcoin ATM's yet (Although I wish!).
Also, unlike many of you international users, us in South Africa don't have many exchanges either. We use a Bitcoin exchange called Luno. They have a monopoly on our crypto system here, and end up charging a whopping 15%+ deposit fee. That means, I am losing already 15% of my money, just by converting it to BTC, and transferring it to (For example) Bittrex.
Then, up until recently, the only way to withdraw our crypto has been through Luno as well. Well, and what do you know? Of course they are charging us through our asses again. Hectic fees. Besides the fees, is the bank transferring times. They are usually delayed. Nowhere near instant.
This is where CryptoPay just saved my life. A Bitcoin card that works anywhere around the world. Now, international card, hmmm.. That must mean high fees huh? Well, not quite. It works-out to a total of 4% complete transaction cost. Now, I don't know about you, but I am very happy with that. Honestly, it's not even Christmas in August, it's now Christmas all year long! (I don't know what I'm saying, LOL)
Anyways, aside from the fees being astronomically lower, is the fact that it's completely universal. Simple VISA card, that now has no limits. What's the best part? Nothing technical. It's such a simple system. The card-ordering process is just you signing-up, then transferring some BTC to the BTC address they give you for your wallet (I recommend sending at least $20), and then the card costs $20. But if you click on the banner below, you can get a 25% discount for your order. So your international VISA card will only cost you $15 once off. Free shipping worldwide! I'm in love LOL!
You also get the option of just using a virtual card, and that's instant. You just select that, and then you can make online transactions with your crypto-currencies to any major online retailer that accepts online card payments! (Which is majority)
I don't see any negative aspects as of yet to this company. I love the idea, and the simplicity behind what they are doing.
I will make a follow-up post in the next few weeks when I receive my card! Until then, get registered! Talk soon.
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Wow! Dude!! What fees on Luno?
If you doing an EFT from a South African bank account then there are no fees to deposit to Luno. Also, there is a flat fee of R8.50 to withdraw... There are also two slots a day at which they release the money... Pretty good if you ask me...
Also, if you're a market maker on Luno then there is no fee to trade - can't say that for many other exchanges in the world. We actually have it pretty sweet when it comes to exchanges...
4% fee with CryptoPay?? That's bit high in my opinion!! Have you looked at Monaco yet? No fee to use, no monthly fees and no shipping costs! They are still in the implementation phase but the best card I've seen on the market!.
I actually posted on it last night - check here.
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Awesome stuff! I will definitely get my hands on this one too ;) I am not too confident about this company. Something seems a little sketchy to me and seems too good to be true with relation to the website and everything they offer, LOL. But hey, it's free! Worth a shot.
I will order mine. I'll in anyways need a second crypto-card as Plan B if anything ever happens. Thanks for that.
With relation to Luno, it's all hidden fees. They simply charge more for BTC. LOL. It's ridiculous how pricey they are. All I know, is I put in R50k, and ended up with R44k at the end of it all. Big time hidden fees. It's much like Blocktrades. They simply make the pricing of Steem and SBD higher. Or did you also not know that Blocktrades will result in astronomical fees? :D
Talk soon.
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Dude!! You definitely did something wrong... If you put 50k in it should reflect 50k...
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Yes. If you deposit R50,000 it will give you R50,000. The hidden fees are when you convert the ZAR into BTC. The value of the BTC you get from the conversion will be around R46,000. Then, when you transfer that BTC, to say Bittrex, it will lose more value.
It's the exact same way Blocktrades makes their money. Fooling 95% of the people using these exchanges and walking home with nice profits.
Like I said, Luno is a straight-up monopoly on our markets right now.
Talk soon!
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That's not right...
If you convert R50k to BTC (assuming the market price hasn't changed) then you still have R50k worth...
Quick q - are you using the actual market to buy the BTC or are you using the "buy" bitcoin button?
Never use the buy button - that is for convenience and you will always pay for convenience...
If you use the market (and that's the way most exchanges do it) then there is no fee (as long as you're a market maker). Worst case - if you're in a rush and are a market taker, then there is a 1% fee...
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I see. That might have been some more useful information me friend. I didn't know about an internal market there! Yes, I always use the buy button since it's kind of in our faces haha!
Okay Well they have already raked a nice R20k out of me. So we learn.
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Dang!! Never use that button!! You'll have read up a bit on buying and selling properly on an exchange - if you do it properly then you can do it with no fees at all 😆
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Yeah, got screwed over on that side as well!
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Nice purchase. 15 percent fees is crazy! That's why you need a free market and healthy competition.
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Nope, Luno does not have fees when depositing money... That info is wrong...
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You go deposit R100k into Luno, and see how much value you have when it enters your Bittrex account :) I'm just talking about what happened to my exact case yesterday. I lost more than 15%.
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No ways, you must be doing something wrong man... There is no fee to transfer money in... If you send BTC out, there is a dynamic fee (which anyone charges when sending BTC)... There is a way around this fee but will let you know if you want 😉
Anyways, if you send a "small" amount, then yes, the sending fee could be 15% - but that's just the way Bitcoin works for now...
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I explained the theory in my other comment just now, at the top of this post :)
And sure, I would love to know that method of yours! Message me on chat ;)
Talk soon!
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Schweet!! Will do ☺️
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wow that is insane...not worth it
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Totally agreed my man :) Unfortunately living in my country, they try to rake every cent out of us.
Talk soon!
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I believe you should let your readers know that currently there are starting to have restrictions applied to where these cards can be used due to new legislation around credit cards (Visa).... I doubt very much if one will be able to use them in South Africa soon.
Upvoted my own vote only for visibility.
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Oh wow that's hectic. Well let's see what happens then! Thanks for letting me in on that info brother! Appreciated.
All good. You can always upote your comment for visibility. Talk soon :)
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Only a week left before mine arrives I guess we shall see!
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Yeah let's see hey!
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Nice post my friend love you
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Thank you my friend! Go order your card now! :D
Talk soon!
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I think it's a good idea, but I'm not going to be rushing out to get one. I'm too cautious I think when it comes to new things. I will let the bugs work out before jumping in. With my strategy though, sometimes I'm too late to take full advantage of a new opportunity.
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Well man, no judge zone :) Rush in, or take your time.. Doesn't matter! :) I will agree, with both sides. I think many new companies seem amazing, and will end up fooling many people. I am quite confident in CryptoPay though. Seems legit. If you'd like, I will let you know how it goes for me once I get it.
On the other side, I also have to agree that sometimes having the conservative approach would also result in missing many opportunities.
All good though. Talk soon.
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Sounds like you just made a gold deal 😉 so happy for you and can't wait to see how it works for you. I'm not very familiar with those cards but if Zane thinks it's a great thing than.... worth thinking about 👍 Upvoted and interesting to read. Much new information I haven't heard.
Have a awesome weekend my friend and talk soon
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Thanks Sara! Yeah, I definitely recommend you go and get one :) It will help with you ever need to buy something at the shop with some crypto-currency :)
Thanks! Talk soon!
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👉🤗👈
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Good luck! I'm new at crypto and all these informations are very useful.
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Awesome thanks for that! I am glad my info is able to help you!
Talk soon!
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Are you referring to "free international shipping from the USA" being the card comes from the USA or are you able to purchase items for free international shipping?
I am in Canada and am waiting for my ADVCASH card. It sounds similar to what your card will do. I'll have to look into it. Thanks for sharing!!
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Awesome stuff! Yeah I meant the card is from the States haha! If it gave free shipping to anything we bought, then wow, that's one hell of a card :D
Talk soon.
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So awesome!
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Thanks!
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So glad you found one. Too bad it will take so long to arrive.
Have you gotten the virtual card?
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I'm so glad I found one. Many people complain about the fees, but I am happy to pay 4% LOL! It's far better than paying 20-40% in taxes. I haven't used the virtual card, no. Simply because I don't need to buy anything online. Yeah, the waiting period is a while, but it'll be here before we know it! Just order and forget :D
Let me know if you're getting one. Talk soon!
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I will check into it. I buy online all the time.
Those are some high taxes, wow! 4% doesn't sound that bad to me!
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Agreed :) All about what reality the situation is being compared to. Taxes can be astronomical, so I don't mind paying small fees haha!
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Just signed up... Thanks.
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Awesome stuff! Everyone that gets must communicate with one another if they have any issues. Nice! It's exciting :D
Talk soon.
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Hi enazwahsdarb,
So glad you got your Bitcoin card! - keep spreading the word, especially in your native land - you will be helping many people avoid that awful Luno company!
Upvoted and resteemed :D
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Hi! Thanks for that. Yeah, I can't see things in my country being like this for too much longer. If Luno doesn't change, they will simply fade away. I think when Bitcoin ATM's finally reach here, it will change everything.
I appreciate that. Talk soon!
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Awesome!! going to go check that out now!!!
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Awesome! Let me know your thoughts!
Talk soon.
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This post received a 2% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @enazwahsdarb! For more information, click here!
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This post has received a 0.63 % upvote from @drotto thanks to: @banjo.
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