I could be wrong, of course, but I considered that what he was writing about could convey several implicit and valid points:
- BCs (Bitcoins) are effectively a kind of foreign currency at the POS (Point-Of-Sale) for retail outlets (the QuickBooks article also refers to this).
-IainB
Only if you let them be.
- Retail POS terminals/systems are usually only geared up to operate in a single standard national currency (in the US).
-IainB
Right, and there is no "profit" in telling the POS system anything different. Just tell it this is a cash transaction, and get on with you day.
- BCs are not a stable currency, due to their fluctuating BC-US$ price, which is presumably fluctuating due to intense speculation in a dynamically changing market.
-IainB
This is only an issue if one is planning to sit on them for weeks/months at a time. If your margins are so tight that selling off at the end of the day is a risk, then I'd be inclined to assert thet you have bigger problems than BTC.
- BCs in any event have the potential (at least currently) for escaping any form of local/federal Retail Sales Tax or VAT (Value-Added Tax) at the POS - the IRS would presumably object to that.
-IainB
Two words ... Cash Transaction.
- The need to establish the forex (foreign exchange rate) value of the "foreign" BC currency in the local currency (US$) at the POS and at that instant of sale (which is what the BC engine is presumably doing somewhere at that point), would probably be impossible with current Payment Systems technology, as it would necessitate having access to a real-time national database of worldwide BC-to-US$ prices. This seems like it could be a bit of a stumbling-block.
-IainB
Enter amount into BTC wallet in USD (or your preferred currency) and it is automatically converted to BTC (yes that all already do that).
hit generate QR code button - Assuming it hasn't already done it on the fly (many do).
Have customer -(yes this assumes a phone based wallet)- scan the QR code and - if all looks kosher - hit send.
watch for incoming transfer (it only takes a few seconds).
Transaction complete.
- In any event, large retailers (such as Walmart, for example) do not currently have the necessary software which, on scanning the barcode of the sale item at the checkout and getting the US$ price, could then look up such a real-time forex database (assuming that it existed and was nationally accessible in real-time in the first place).
-IainB
The necessary BTC software is free, and they all do a dollars to BTC conversion on the fly...which is based on a user configurable exchange.
FOR SMB's CoinBase (and I'd wager other companies like it) offers a web based transaction handling service that will generate a QR code based invoice, send it to the customer, and then automatically sell off the coin and deposit the money in you bank account (at the agreed on/transacted exchange rate).
...So just a little lite reading and the whole thing turns into a complete nonissue FUD storm.
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