Bitcoin Can Be Bought With Cash At Swiss Railway Ticket Machines

Mickeycaskill writes: Bitcoin will be available to purchase from Swiss railway ticket machines, potentially allowing for the wider spread of the cryptocurrency.

Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) has more than 1,000 ticket machines and has partnered with regulated financial intermediary SweePay to distribute Bitcoin.

Customers need to select mobile top up on the machines, scan the QR code on their Bitcoin digital wallet and enter the number of Swiss Francs, up to 500 CHF, in to the machine, confirm the offer of Bitcoins they receive then identify themselves using a mobile number and a security code sent to their smartphone.

While the machine can pay out Bitcoin, for the time being it will not accept payments made with the cryptocurrency. While credit card cannot be used with the machines to buy Bitcoins, SBB is effectively providing a way to swap local currency for a digital version that can be used anywhere around the world, thereby bypassing unfavourable exchange rates