Bitcoins: Hundreds Of Depanneurs Are Selling Them … Without Even Knowing It!

“Hello. I’d like to buy some bitcoins, please. ”

Yumin Li, owner of the Dépanneur Bleu on Valiquette Street in Sainte-Adèle, stares at me as if I was from another planet.

“Bitcoins?” I don’t even know what that is! I don’t sell that here! ”

“Of course you sell them. Look here, on my cell phone: your depanneur is featured on the map as a bitcoin seller! “.

He then sees his c-store name, Dépanneur Bleu, clearly posted on the Bitaccess website map, which indicates all the locations in Quebec where to buy bitcoins.

 

Indeed, the most famous cryptocurrency in the world, which goes up and down faster than La Ronde’s roller coaster, can now be purchased in several hundreds of depanneurs across Quebec.

Like most c-store owners, Mr. Li was not aware that in addition to sellling beer, milk and cigarettes, he was now among the hundreds of c-stores in Quebec selling bitcoins!

They can be purchased indirectly through Flexepin vouchers issued by Payment Source terminals that are used primarily to recharge calling cards, gift cards, online gaming cards and the like.

The buying process is fairly simple: Flexepin vouchers are offered in amounts of $ 20, $ 50, $ 100, $ 250, $ 300 or $ 500. Once the payment is completed (cash or debit only), the retailer retrieves the voucher from the Payment Source terminal as it would to reload a Virgin calling card. He then gives to the customer a receipt printed by the terminal that includes a 16-digit PIN and a bar code. The customer can then use this number to buy bitcoins online in a completely anonymous way (the following video shows how).

Be aware: some fees apply. DepQuébec purchased a $ 20 voucher and was charged a fee of $ 1.95. This is almost 10%, but these costs would be proportionately much lower if the amount of the purchased voucher had been higher. Also, it is important to note that these purchases are not taxable.

Vouchers that sole raison d’être is bitcoin

Once the Flexepin voucher is extracted, it can theoretically be used for other purposes than buying bitcoins: online shopping at participating stores, utility bill payment and so forth. However, upon verification, very few outlets seem to be accepting them: Amazon, Best Buy and others do not accept it. This product is also fairly new: it’s only been available in Canada since last year (in March 2016) and besides Australia, where it originates from, the only other country where it is offered is Greece. So it’s not quite widespread at the moment.

It would seem that its main purpose right now is as a mean to buy bitcoins through cash payment. The Bitaccess website, for its part, allows the exchange of Flexepin vouchers for bitcoins (as other sites do: see here) and features a map of all stores in Canada selling Flexepin vouchers.

A quick overview of this Bitaccess map shows that several hundred outlets in Quebec sell Flexepin vouchers, the vast majority, more than 90%, being convenience stores and gas stations.

Very few major chains or banners presently offer it: the only ones seem to be Canadian Tire gas stations. Couche-Tard does not offer it: we checked and the chain does not sell it. However, the Bitaccess online map indicates that at least one Provi-Soir, an Omni and a Super Sagamie among the bitcoin sellers.

The vast majority are independent convenience stores and grocery stores located throughout Quebec, even in remote areas. Other types of businesses than convenience stores also offer this service like cellular phone stores, electronic stores, etc.

On Bitaccess, buying more than $ 2,000 of bitcoins per day is not allowed. However, since the convenience store transactions are paid cash or by debit, there is no limit on the number of vouchers you can buy.

The Depanneur Advantage : Paying Cash

But what could be the benefit of buying bitcoins in a convenience store rather than directly online? First, at the convenience store, you can pay cash, thus ensuring your complete privacy. Second, it would appear that transaction costs are lower at the convenience store than online, but this remains to be validated.

In conclusion, why would anybody want to purchase bitcoins to begin with? Well, some will be looking to speculate on this currency, which was worth $ 400 and now $ 3,300 …. it could well be worth $ 10,000 in two years just like $ 200: at your own risk. The other reason is confidentiality: when you do not want anyone to know what you’re buying, it’s a good way (even though other ways exist like prepaid credit card).

Finally, it could also be a tax haven, since bitcoin is like a Swiss bank account: totally anonymous. With the difference that anyone, with any amount, can take advantage (not just zillionaires)… since it is now available at your favorite c-store!