How to be a Bitcoin onboarding merchant with a TPoS ATM

Yes, you hear it well: you are a merchant and you want your customers to start using Bitcoin! The onboarding process works on both ways. This guide is about HOW to onboard new users, not to became a LN bank. So please don't come up with comments that "is custodial... bla bla bla". Yes, you can be the custodian, the LN bank for your customers, nothing wrong with that if the user are warned about the risks. If there's a trust between the parties, it is nothing wrong.
This is how we start slowly onboarding people, We MUST start using Bitcoin BEFORE the CBDCs are in place!
Recently Ben Arc announced a new feature for the LNbits TPoS:
Youtube video demo here:
Apart from new improvements for the LNbits extension, was added the possibility to sell BTC vouchers. Same as Azteco is doing. But this time ANYBODY with a LNbits instance can do it.

Conditions

  • You are a small merchant, already accepting BTC
  • You have a LNbits instance, for accepting BTC and many other cool stuff (see my many guides about it)
  • You have also a printer for tickets or even this wonderful Android PoS with LNbits integrated
  • You have setup the LNbits TPoS extension (from many others)
  • You have a good LN node with good liquidity ready for funding your LNbits instance (see bellow my guides about LNbits and liquidity)
  • You want your regular customers to start paying you in BTC, but they didn't started yet.

Scenario

You are just a regular small shop, grocery or whatever shop, bar, restaurant, that already accept BTC. Some customers are still paying you in fiat cash. Fine, but also they would like to start using BTC, and they don't know how to do it, how to start. Are your regular customers, you know them, they know you.
So they do their regular shopping and pay with cash, you gave them some change, in coins or bills. Then you ask them: "would you like to convert this small change into bitcoin?" Answer is yes.
Then go to your LNbits TPoS, put the amount in fiat and print the voucher code for LNURL-withdraw with the sats.
As a first time using Bitcoin it is recommended to help them with more instructions like: what wallet should install and redeem that LNURL voucher, how to do it, safety measures, how to stack, how to take self custody etc.
I would recommend to onboard first with simple solutions, even custodial if they prefer (but warn them). The first steps are always very hard for a noob. Depending on their knowledge level, suggest the app accordingly. See bellow in the links resources the guide about LN wallets comparison.
  • Blink wallet - works very easy and fast, fully supporting LNURL. Custodial, open-source, no KYC (only the phone no)
  • Walletano - web / PWA wallet, no app to install, no-KYC, very simple
  • CoinOS - web / PWA wallet, no ap to install, no-KYC, very simple
  • Phoenix - very good and simple wallet for onboarding, self-custodial
  • Zeus - you can use it with your own LNbits LNDhub accounts or using any other custodial service like Alby, LNtipBot, that support LNDhub. Zeus is more complex for a noob, but is very powerful LN node. You can start also with Olympus by Zeus LSP opening a channel with the amount of sats from the voucher, but it require more steps, not a very fast onboarding with a LNURL-w voucher.
  • Bluewallet - same as Zeus, suing the LNbits LNDhub account
  • Breez - very good LN node, that fully support LNURL, self-custodial
  • Blixt - same as Zeus, self-custodial LN node, but the process of onboarding is not easy straight from the LNURL-voucher, this is more for advanced users.
  • Your own LNBITs instance. Offer them temporary custody using your own LNBits! Read bellow a guide about how to use LNbits as a LN bank for your family and friends. And they don't even have to download any app, they could just use a LNBits account from your own LNbits instance. Of course, warn them that the funds are still in your custody and they should move them out into a self custody wallet. But for practicing and helping them with first steps, it is a nice and easy method.
And done! From now on, your recurring customers could exchange their fiat change from shopping into sats, each time they came to your shop.
I would not be worried about any "legal" repercussions. Bitcoin is digital P2P cas, another form of money that NONE of gov have power over it. Nobody can prohibit you to trade in whatever form of money or value.
Please don't confuse this aspect with "legal tender", that is totally another story !
Any retailer or individual could refuse to use a legal tender. Nobody can force you to use it. Why? What is the point of a legal tender then?
The point is that you cannot force a retailer to accept legal tender or indeed any other form of tender. If, however, you buy something from them and there is no contractual barrier to the use of any form of tender, and you offer legal tender in payment, and they refuse it, then they cannot enforce the debt in court.
That's what legal tender means: it's about discharging debts. If you incur a debt you can discharge it with legal tender, but you cannot be forced to incur the debt in the first place, if you see what I mean...
Please bookmark all of them to study them before you start building your own scenario. Are full of details.
Cool idea 🚀


I would like to share similar experience. There is a club in Czechia (Bitclub) where you can pay with bitcoin of course. But when you pay in fiat the club owner writes this amount on a blackboard and next customer can withdraw that in bitcoin (1 CZK ~ 120 sats). If he rejects the amount is still increasing with every new fiat purchase until some nocoiner collects it.
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Hahaha super nice!
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We are also working on a very simple way to start accepting payments as a merchant directly into your Walletano wallet. A simple POS.
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goood, more solutions, more merchants
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Super big thanks
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Let's go !

"Yes, you can be the custodian, the LN bank for your customers, nothing wrong with that if the user are warned about the risks. If there's a trust between the parties, it is nothing wrong."
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I think one other possiblity is sats cashback on any purchase. Same as Membership Rewards at Amex. Great customer retention tool
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You should push too this idea into your customers, with your solution. Make them a BTC ATM until no fiat remain...
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I get your idea with charging more for other payment solutions. But from a customer perspective i still think they should be able to decide. The merchant can motivate with cashback etc, but i'm sure the customer will understand the advantges at some point of time, especially when buying something which he/she doesn't want on their bank or credit card statement.
Also we will offer Instant-Cashback for customers :)
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Yeah, each merchant decide for its own method. If I would have a shop I will be very aggressive against fiat methods. This is how I convinced in the past many of my clients, as a freelancer in IT. I told them in 2016-2018:
  • you start paying me in BTC, you get discount.
  • For all the rest of fiat payments you will get a % increase.
  • if you want to know more, all consultancy is free of charge, anytime 24/7
From 10 clients I had, 4 start accumulating BTC as "company reserve", as I advise them. From that reserve they start paying me. and slowly other employees. Then they start accepting BTC for their services, first in private deals, later publicly.
Now they are happy that they listen to me. And they started, waaaaay before M.Salylor. Saylor is just a small holder. These companies were buying BTC when was really low in price... And what is more important, they pay their employees in BTC, not like Saylor that is just speculating with his stash.
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When you offer a good product/service you could do it like that!
So i know what @DarthCoin is doing all day, counting all his Bitcoins :D
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Why do you delete your posts?
Prefer staying ephemeral?
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Unfortunately in some countries in Europe this is not allowed and you're required to do kyc and have substantial costs also.
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OK go back to fiat...
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Bitcoin ATMs are not allowed. I used them extensively when they were available. Regulation removed them all.
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next year there will be MiCAR so it should be the same for everybody in the EU.
Yes, works the same. All merchants that already accept BTC should do this. And give good discounts for those that pays in BTC, BIG VISIBLE for the customers:
  • you pay in Bitcoin, get 10% discount
  • you pay with VISA, get a 5%+ on top of the price
  • you pay in cash, price remain the same
So the NPC will realize the advantage of paying with BTC. Make them THINK.
I pay all my groceries in BTC. I get 10% discount for life, because I help onboarding him and the shop is willing to bring me whatever I want if I pay in BTC
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Applying in my small business right now!
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Applying in my small business right now! How ist the customer feedback so far?
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Only a few regular customers are encouraged, trust is key. This year? About 100 customers took the orange pill, I tried to make them see how easy it is to get their first sats without investing by using some apps that operate in lightning, as well as how to install a wallet and trade fiat. About 8 or 10 of the bitcoinized customers finally buy products from the store, but they usually do it regularly
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That sounds great! Keep on doing this :)
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Thank you. Very informative.
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arrrgghhhhh I forgot to add 2 things, I can't edit it anymore.
  1. You can use also LNTipBot from telegram as a temporary wallet. Super fast and easy, just open https://t.me/LightningTipBot in your Telegram, set your account and done, scan the LNURL voucher. later you can link this account in Zeus or Bluewallet as a LNDhub account
  2. Soon also BTCpay will have the same plugin for printing LNURL vouchers. Here is a demo from Rocsktar
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nah it's ok. You know me, I didn't post it for the sats... but for to wake up the noobs to start using BTC
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Unfortuantley the integrated TPoS printer ist not standardized in the EU.
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Sad, especially as the dev, Ben Arc, appears to hail from Wales.
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The guide helps merchants onboard customers to Bitcoin by issuing LNURL vouchers through LNbits TPoS. It aids in converting fiat change into BTC, advising wallet choices, and supporting beginner users with steps. While custodial approaches are discussed, users are encouraged to be cautious.
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fuck off bot
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And now WoS released a new feature for this very matter. Great article, mate!
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Great for anyone not in the U.S.
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You have many other alternatives. One is Blink. Open source and apk available to download free. Also they have a POS web interface like WoS
You have also https://lifpay.me/ that works nice. You have CoinOs too: https://coinos.io/ - powerful tool with pos, web / PWA
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