McDonald's Might Start Accepting Bitcoin

[FSP-Rebel]

There are many rumors being spread regarding McDonald’s possibly accepting bitcoin soon. The reason speculation is so high is due to their announcement of accepting a new digital currency soon. They entertained a variety of questions through twitter, and the response was particularly interesting when asked if it was bitcoin. The tweet towards McDonald’s was as follows:

“So @McDonalds is going to start accepting a random type currency soon.. I wonder it its $btc #bitcoin”

The response given was:

“We don’t want to ruin the surprise! Hang in there, we promise it’s worth the wait!”

More...http://bitcoinist.net/mcdonalds-migh...-bitcoin-soon/

[kpitcher]

Do they accept apple pay or google wallet? While I'd love to see some McBitcoin accepted if I had to bet on it I'd think it was a smartphone app from one of those two.

[brandon]

I couldn't imagine a single thing theyd gain from accepting bitcoin.

[Chester Copperpot]

they probably are going to create their own McCoin.

[VIDEODROME]

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[dannno]

I couldn't imagine a single thing theyd gain from accepting bitcoin.

Well they probably don't like the high transaction fees on their cheap food.

[amy31416]

they probably are going to create their own McCoin.

And you mine by eating cheeseburgers?

[PaulConventionWV]

I couldn't imagine a single thing theyd gain from accepting bitcoin.

Gotta keep up with Subway somehow.

[squarepusher]

I couldn't imagine a single thing theyd gain from accepting bitcoin.

capture neckbeard market share?

[brandon]

Well they probably don't like the high transaction fees on their cheap food.

A company as big as McDonalds has negotiated special rates on transaction fees that are lower than normal. I don't think there's a bit coin transaction processor even big enough to handle McDonalds let alone compete with visas rate.

[brandon]

Also could you imagine waiting 20 minutes for your mcdouble while your transaction cleared?

[staerker]

Also could you imagine waiting 20 minutes for your mcdouble while your transaction cleared?

Simply check their balance before creating the transaction.

I realize that they may move the coins before the transaction gets confirmed, but on extremely small transactions?

The paranoia is equivalent to marking every $1 bill that you accept.

[staerker]

Though the best solution to that problem is a multisig address. A McDonald's "account" in your wallet.

[brandon]

The paranoia is equivalent to marking every $1 bill that you accept.

Sorry don't see that at all. The level of paranoia of waiting for a transaction to occur is the same thing that they do when they swipe your credit card. Could you imagine if they just wrote down everyones credit card numbers and trusted they were valid, then tried charging them all at the end of the day.

[amonasro]

Also could you imagine waiting 20 minutes for your mcdouble while your transaction cleared?

Everything I buy, where the merchant uses Bitpay, requires 0 wait. It is instant.

[staerker]

Sorry don't see that at all. The level of paranoia of waiting for a transaction to occur is the same thing that they do when they swipe your credit card. Could you imagine if they just wrote down everyones credit card numbers and trusted they were valid, then tried charging them all at the end of the day.

Like I said above, I think the best solution to the problem is a multisig address, an address that requires two users to create the transaction. It would work like a preloadable gift card.

That way they have a full history of created transactions for that address, and don't need an official confirmation at the moment of the sale.

[tommassi]

and soon also leocoin in UK!

http://www.buy-leocoin.org/news/dan-...ith-nick-clegg

[helmuth_hubener]

Do they accept apple pay?

Yes.

[RonPaulIsGreat]

0 confirms aren't as bad as people make them out to be.

1. 99.9% of people will never even attempt to double spend their bitcoin.
2. The 0.1% that might are almost certainly not going to bother at Mcdonalds.

I mean seriously. The transaction will be transmitted on the network, their bitcoin "Provider" will be checking for anomalous activity on the transaction.
They will still have you on camera, if you tried to buy 200 dollars worth of Chicken McNuggets and make a run for it.

I mean I could snatch a candy bar from the convenience store, but it's not worth the trouble. Same as Mcdonalds.

[Suzanimal]

McDonald’s Super Bowl commercial will unveil a very unique way for customers to pay

McDonald’s continues its march into the 21st century. After making inroads with payment methods like PayPal and Apple Pay, Ronald McDonald’s digs may now accept payment in selfies and hugs.

Business Insider reports that starting Feb. 2 — and lasting through Valentine’s Day — some customers will be able to pay with various forms of family-friendly physical appreciation, including hugs, high fives and selfies. The “Pay with Lovin'” opportunity will be available to random customers who order during certain times of day. It’ll be officially unveiled during the chain’s Super Bowl commercial.

Prefer to give fistbumps? That’s cool. It might not get you a break on your Big Mac, though.

Read more at http://rare.us/story/mcdonalds-super...FByJqCRVeyA.99

[helmuth_hubener]

0 confirms aren't as bad as people make them out to be.

1. 99.9% of people will never even attempt to double spend their bitcoin.
2. The 0.1% that might are almost certainly not going to bother at Mcdonalds.

Hmm. So, perhaps credit cards should take the same view. Nobody's going to bother doing a fraudulent charge for just $5. We'll just stop checking those. The 0.1% of people who would do that can now do so freely, and our system will make no attempt to stop them.

To what, exactly, do you think that will lead?

[Zippyjuan]

Well they probably don't like the high transaction fees on their cheap food.

A business will ask two questions. One- will it help me sell more food (or whatever they sell)? (Do bitcoin users shop at McDonald's a lot?- I can see Starbucks perhaps but probably not so much at Micky D's) Will it lower my costs (increase my profits)? In the case of McDonald's and Bitcoins- the answer is probably no on both.

[KCIndy]

Two years ago in Utah McDonald's was experimenting with taking payments directly from mobile phones with something called Isis Wallet. I tried using it at a McD's, but couldn't get the transaction to go through. Everyone behind the counter had been told McDonald's was going to be using the technology, but no one had been given directions on how to perform the transaction... heh heh.....

I can tell ya that Bitcoin is actually an easier technology to use.

[RonPaulIsGreat]

Hmm. So, perhaps credit cards should take the same view. Nobody's going to bother doing a fraudulent charge for just $5. We'll just stop checking those. The 0.1% of people who would do that can now do so freely, and our system will make no attempt to stop them.

To what, exactly, do you think that will lead?

It's not exactly the same. The system will still look if at present you have enough bitcoin to cover the cost.

Zero Confirm just means it's possible that another transaction could be introduced before the original transaction gets "committed" to a block.

So, the scenario would be. You pay with your bitcoin at mcdonalds, system checks says yeah they got enough to cover this, but since the mcdonalds transaction has zero confirms it's not "commited'. So, you then immediately run across the street to the alcohol store snatch a bottle of vodka, and attempt to pay for it. Well, most likely it'd be blocked because you can see uncommited transactions on the network, so there provider will most likely block it.

But it is possible for a short time frame that a double spend gets introduced, in that scenario whichever transaction gets committed first would be the one that actually gets paid.

So, first it's not very likely you'd be successful to begin with, seeing Mcdonalds will be using a payment provider like coinbase or similiar and they monitor pending transactions. Second, you'd only be able to do it for cheap stuff, ONCE at any particular store. Any large purchase would require at least 1 confirm on the network, and the higher the cost the more confirms. Third, the longer you are at the location in question the GREATER the odds the double spend will be discovered from the other purchase. So, better get in and out quick or the cops will be called before you get out of the parking lot.

So, yeah, you'd have some percentage chance of getting one of your two transactions for free potentially. A coordinated attack with another person timing the swipes together would probably gain you the best odds. So, you swipe at mcdonalds, and I swipe at Burger King I suppose at the exact same time, and you'd probably have a small amount of time to escape. Unless of course Coinbase handles both Mcdonalds and Burger Kings transactions then they'd know instantly. So, make sure each business is using different providers and aren't sharing transaction data with each other to prevent double spends.

Anyway, but yeah it's possible to some degree. Not worth it though for 99.9% of the population, you'd be better off getting a minimum wage job, you'd do better.

[squarepusher]

Two years ago in Utah McDonald's was experimenting with taking payments directly from mobile phones with something called Isis Wallet. I tried using it at a McD's, but couldn't get the transaction to go through. Everyone behind the counter had been told McDonald's was going to be using the technology, but no one had been given directions on how to perform the transaction... heh heh.....

I can tell ya that Bitcoin is actually an easier technology to use.

lol'd

[helmuth_hubener]

It's not exactly the same. The system will still look if at present you have enough bitcoin to cover the cost.

Zero Confirm just means it's possible that another transaction could be introduced before the original transaction gets "committed" to a block.

So, the scenario would be...

Anyway, but yeah it's possible to some degree.

That's one scenario.

Could I make an app to automatically do a double-spend every time? To make a second spend, to myself?

Yes, yes I could.

No running to the liquor store required.

Gaping security holes are gaping security holes. Expressing confidence that they will surely never be exploited is no defense, and is ridiculous.

[jmdrake]

I'll gladly pay you in Bitcoins valued on Tuesday for a hamburger today.

[muh_roads]

Do the people here who think they know what they're talking about actually tried to use Bitcoin before? There seems to be a lot of arm-chair haters around here. But nobody has actually tried using it to send to another wallet or buy something. Doing this completely changes your perspective on things. Especially going from wallet to wallet with no middle-man.

I've tried to do a zero confirm double-spend transaction before as a test and I can never get it to work. When you send your money it always appears instantly on the receiver side. Confirming the transaction just means the receiver can't re-spend the coin for 10 minutes. The legacy rails of the banking system are WAY slower. Mcdonald's doesn't actually get their credit card/apple pay money for many days or more.

[idiom]

Do the people here who think they know what they're talking about actually tried to use Bitcoin before? There seems to be a lot of arm-chair haters around here. But nobody has actually tried using it to send to another wallet or buy something. Doing this completely changes your perspective on things. Especially going from wallet to wallet with no middle-man.

I've tried to do a zero confirm double-spend transaction before as a test and I can never get it to work. When you send your money it always appears instantly on the receiver side. Confirming the transaction just means the receiver can't re-spend the coin for 10 minutes. The legacy rails of the banking system are WAY slower. Mcdonald's doesn't actually get their credit card/apple pay money for many days or more.

In New Zealand, nobody uses credit cards and nobody uses cash. It all bank to bank transfers with no fees. Any bank that charged fees would have zero customers in a week. The payment is *immediately* available in the vendors account.

In fact most stores ban credit cards, or charge 2% more to cover the fees.

[muh_roads]

In New Zealand, nobody uses credit cards and nobody uses cash. It all bank to bank transfers with no fees. Any bank that charged fees would have zero customers in a week. The payment is *immediately* available in the vendors account.

In fact most stores ban credit cards, or charge 2% more to cover the fees.

Person to Person still reigns supreme for obvious reasons. Bank to Bank with no fees is all fine and dandy until the day comes when a bail-in happens (aka Cyprus)