Walmart has joined forces with coin-cashing machine company Coinstar and crypto-cash exchange CoinMe to install 200 Bitcoin ATMs in its stores across the United States.
The pilot project includes only 200 kiosks, the larger launch plans to eventually see the installation of 8,000 bitcoin ATMs across the country.There are currently over 25,000 bitcoin ATMs at select grocery stores and service stations in the U.S. Coinstar operates 4,400 kiosks enabled for Bitcoin purchases, across 33 states.
Customers can use the Bitcoin ATM by inserting a banknote and receiving a paper voucher with a redemption code. To redeem the code, customers need to then set up a Coinme account and complete a background check. Users cannot withdraw Bitcoin from their account, with no indication of plans to offer this functionality in the near future.
The Bitcoin ATMs have an 11% surcharge, comprised of a 4% fee for the Bitcoin option, plus an additional 7% cash exchange fee. As a point of comparison, popular crypto trading platforms Binance and Coinbase charge 3% to 4.5%, and 3.99% for debit and credit card purchases respectively. It is free to make a direct deposit from a bank account to a Binance or Coinbase wallet.
This isn’t the first sign of interest that Walmart has shown in the crypto world. In August, the retail giant publicized that it was seeking a crypto product lead to drive the company’s digital currency strategy. Walmart China has also teamed up with blockchain-based supply chain management platform VeChain to track products.
