Shift Card: Just ordered one!!

[ronnieb]

Hey guys, just ordered my Shift Card. Starting this thread to update on utility. FYI right off the bat there was a glitch applying for the card. The site wouldn't accept my email (.info extension). Emailed support and they had it fixed within hours. Good sign to start off. Quick customer service if you are willing to email and go the digital route.



From the site: https://www.shiftpayments.com/

Whether your currency is new or old shouldn't matter. Bitcoin is now accepted online and offline at over 38 million merchants worldwide. Case closed.

The Shift Card works like any debit card today. Connect your existing accounts and spend Coinbase or Dwolla, immediately and directly, everywhere VISA is accepted.

[bitkilo]

Great, thanks for posting this.
I haven't seen anyone talking much aboit these cards and your the 1st i know of who has actually ordered one.

Please keep us updated on all aspects lile loading the card and ease of use and any load or withdrawal fees.
Is this the card that allows you to load it with many different alt coins via shapeshift?

I have a Coinjar swipe card and it comes in very handy.
With all these debit cards now on the market im starting to serioulsy think of receiving a percentage of my wage in bitcoin using bitwage as the go between.

[ronnieb]

Ok, first update... within 24 hours got the approval email. I can't imagine anyone is un-approved... but here ya go.

[ronnieb]

Great, thanks for posting this.
I haven't seen anyone talking much aboit these cards and your the 1st i know of who has actually ordered one.

Please keep us updated on all aspects lile loading the card and ease of use and any load or withdrawal fees.
Is this the card that allows you to load it with many different alt coins via shapeshift?

I'm not sure if you can use shapeshift with this one but will find out. I have a couple other Bitcoin Debit Cards and the problem has been "loading". I don't want to "load" a card, I just want to spend. I believe SHIFT CARD works differently in that you don't load, you just spend. I'll keep all updated.

I have a Coinjar swipe card and it comes in very handy.

You should post your experiences with Coinjar!!

With all these debit cards now on the market im starting to serioulsy think of receiving a percentage of my wage in bitcoin using bitwage as the go between.

That's exactly why I got SHIFT. I was thinking to convert 100% of paycheck to BTC then spend sparingly!!!

[Windowly]

I was thinking of ordering a shift card, but. . .

I have a debit card that has no atm fees for a bank account that I hooked up to Coinbase and Circle. It's not that hard to sell some bitcoin in Circle (I usually find Circle offers a better deal (price-wise and no fees) for selling bitcoin in the States) and have it deposited in my account to withdraw.

Because 97% of my liquid assets are in bitcoin it does take a little bit of planning ahead -- but I enjoy not having to spend any money on fees.

The Swift card is a good first step but now Coinbase and Swift (or some other company doing another card) need to make it an a lot more attractive option.

[arnoudk]

Interesting, however currently this is a USA only party.

Who can sign up for a Shift Card?
At this time, only residents of the United States may apply for a Shift Card.

In order to spend bitcoin via Coinbase, cardholders must reside in one of the following U.S. states:
AL, AZ, CA, DE, DC, GA, ID, IA, KS, ME, MS, NE, NV, NJ, NC, ND, OK, PA, PR, SD, TX, VT, WA, WV

Shift Card activations for California residents are limited.

Hopefully this will all change in the near future!

It is also nice to see two people here considering getting their wages in bitcoin. Does your employer need an agreement with bitwage for this to work, or do you sign up as an individual to their service? Are you considering bitwage because of the convenience (you could just forward all your payments to an exchange and buy btc yourself) or are there additional reasons?

[bitkilo]

Found the post.
This is what i was thinking about when i mentioned in my last post about shape shift loading debit cards with all alt coins:
marketplace/load-debit-card-uses-shape- ... html#p7555

[ronnieb]

I have a debit card that has no atm fees for a bank account that I hooked up to Coinbase and Circle. It's not that hard to sell some bitcoin in Circle (I usually find Circle offers a better deal (price-wise and no fees) for selling bitcoin in the States) and have it deposited in my account to withdraw.

But this has a massive latency, correct? I mean if you sell bitcoin then you can deposit it into your bank for transfer to circle or coinbase... or did I misunderstand???

From my understanding, if you have a swift card and let's say 1 BTC in your coinbase account, you can spend the value of the BTC real time using the SWIFT card.

I will know for sure here in a few days, but that was my thought process.

[ronnieb]

Found the post.
This is what i was thinking about when i mentioned in my last post about shape shift loading debit cards with all alt coins:
marketplace/load-debit-card-uses-shape- ... html#p7555

This is definitely cool, but I hate to "load" cards. I mean I like my store of value to be BTC (or a altcoin) and then spend on demand... not load in anticipation of spending.

[Acidyo]

I was thinking to convert 100% of paycheck to BTC then spend sparingly!!!

Omg, that is literally what everyone should be doing right now!

[bitkilo]

Found the post.
This is what i was thinking about when i mentioned in my last post about shape shift loading debit cards with all alt coins:
marketplace/load-debit-card-uses-shape- ... html#p7555

This is definitely cool, but I hate to "load" cards. I mean I like my store of value to be BTC (or a altcoin) and then spend on demand... not load in anticipation of spending.

Loading the cards can be a hassle but only small, i can load mine all from my phone on the go and it only takes a few minutes.

My concern with having the BTC always loaded on the card, where is the private keys kept and who issues these cards.
If you find any cards that suite your needs let us know, i would like to check it out.

[robtmil]

The way I understand it is that your bitcoins are in a Coinbase account and when you use the card it deducts the current dollar equivalent from the account.

[Windowly]

I have a debit card that has no atm fees for a bank account that I hooked up to Coinbase and Circle. It's not that hard to sell some bitcoin in Circle (I usually find Circle offers a better deal (price-wise and no fees) for selling bitcoin in the States) and have it deposited in my account to withdraw.

But this has a massive latency, correct? I mean if you sell bitcoin then you can deposit it into your bank for transfer to circle or coinbase... or did I misunderstand???

From my understanding, if you have a swift card and let's say 1 BTC in your coinbase account, you can spend the value of the BTC real time using the SWIFT card.

I will know for sure here in a few days, but that was my thought process.

Yes there is a latency because after I have sold bitcoin there is a few day wait while I'm waiting the money to arrive in my bank account. So far it's worked, even with the longish delay. However, I'm jealous of everyone getting their swift card. . . maybe I'll get one as well!

[ronnieb]

My concern with having the BTC always loaded on the card, where is the private keys kept and who issues these cards.
If you find any cards that suite your needs let us know, i would like to check it out.

Maybe I'm using the wrong cards... but when I load a card, the BTC is converted to cash... which sucks for me because my preferred store of value is BTC. I am think the SWIFT card is not a "load" card. We shall see this week!!

[ronnieb]

The way I understand it is that your bitcoins are in a Coinbase account and when you use the card it deducts the current dollar equivalent from the account.

I think you are correct, but will now for sure here this week. Very excited to find out. This will help me keep majority funds in BTC.

[ronnieb]

However, I'm jealous of everyone getting their swift card. . . maybe I'll get one as well!

Standby for an extra week or so until you get my review. Who knows... we might not want one after all LOL.

[bitkilo]

I would like to see a card that stores and spends from purely BTC but until the majority of merchants start accepting BTC as payment they will want cash. As it stands if a merchant was to accept BTC for goods then they would either have to have a supplier accept their bitcoins or use a service to convert those to cash for them.

I use a Coinjar swipe card and I do have to load that from my stored BTC before spending, once loaded the BTC converts to cash and can then be spent or withdraw via a normal ATM.

[ronnieb]

Update: Dec 3, 2015

SHIFT Card received!!

got here quickly. I will try and use in the next couple days and report back!!

[bitkilo]

Good to see you got it
It will be good to read your full feedback on this card, keep us updated.

[EricRSammons]

I'm excited to hear about your experience with the Shift Card. I would get one, but I don't live in an approved state right now.

My biggest concern is that it won't be very competitive with regular debit cards. Currently there are no fees for transactions, but it appears there will be at some point, and there is a $2.50 fee for ATM withdrawals - my own bank charges nothing. Since I don't incur fees or charges for using my regular debit card, I'm not very incentivized to use the Shift one for everyday living. It really makes it just a card for those who are all-in with Bitcoin, not your average Joe. It also goes against the hype of Bitcoin being cheaper to use for transactions.

Don't get me wrong - I'm excited about the card and think it is a good first step (heck, I wrote a whole article on this) , but I hope it can long-term be competitive enough with standard debit cards.

[ronnieb]

I'm excited to hear about your experience with the Shift Card. I would get one, but I don't live in an approved state right now.

My biggest concern is that it won't be very competitive with regular debit cards. Currently there are no fees for transactions, but it appears there will be at some point, and there is a $2.50 fee for ATM withdrawals - my own bank charges nothing. Since I don't incur fees or charges for using my regular debit card, I'm not very incentivized to use the Shift one for everyday living. It really makes it just a card for those who are all-in with Bitcoin, not your average Joe. It also goes against the hype of Bitcoin being cheaper to use for transactions.

Don't get me wrong - I'm excited about the card and think it is a good first step (heck, I wrote a whole article on this) , but I hope it can long-term be competitive enough with standard debit cards.

I agree that this is just a bridge for bitcoin to legacy right now and it could go south (fees). That being said though, it's a way for me to use bitcoin as my exclusive store of value and still be able to quickly convert to legacy should the need arise!! We are making progress... one step at a time.

[ronnieb]

UPDATE: First Transaction December 5th 2015

So I used my SHIFT card today for the first time. Seamless!! No problems, instantly converted BTC (in my coinbase account) into USD at the register without any indication of such.

I was going to buy a Xmass gift at PetSmart and they were out of stock... so I bought a gift card instead. I know what your thinking, but I was dying to use the SHIFT card and so first purchase accidentally turned out to be a Gift Card.

SHIFT CARD is a real opportunity for me to keep more value stored in BTC and should the need arise to get out of BTC it's fast and easy. These guys are having an impact. Very curious to see how the Bitcoin Ethos looks in 12 months.