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237 sats \ 4 replies \ @nullcount 23 Oct 2023 \ on: How to create a local alternative to Bitrefill? bitcoin
Can you access Bitrefill via Tor or VPN so they cannot tell you are in a sanctioned region?
Have you tried CoinCards.com?
If you want to start a local alternative, you need to find a way to acquire gift cards, phone credits, etc. at a discount. This will allow you to be sustainable as you can sell them at face value for a small profit.
Usually brands will offer discounts on their credit when you reach significant volume. Until then, use a gift card issuing API offered by a third party. Then you are simply a Bitcoin translation layer to that API.
Maybe you can find a card issuer in your country. These card APIs are used by corporations to automate gift card delivery for employee birthdays, etc.
You will likely need to sell your first 1000 cards at a loss (or break even). It may be possible to charge a premium if you have a local monopoly at the start.
Build a WooCommerce site with Wordpress. Connect the site to your Bitcoin/Lightning node using the BTCPay plugin. Find an API for issuing and sending digital gift cards at wholesale and integrate their API into your site.
Your site would simply handle the conversion of sats to Fiat so you can pay the Card API provider. Make sure you have enough profit to cover any exchange fees from selling sats.
Bitrefill is available in my area without a VPN, it's just that the service itself has removed gift cards and phone top-ups from its website.
Thanks for the detailed reply. I'll try to explore the available options)
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Bitrefill may be hiding those products for users with a sanctioned IP address. I have verified that gift cards and phone top ups are still available using a USA IP address.
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Some cards are bound to a particular region. For example, Amazon US vs Amazon EU. Maybe bitrefill has stopped offering cards in your region.
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If you go to the direct link to top up a phone, for example, bitrefill will just show that the cards have run out of cards link
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