Anybody else tried Fold?

[Bridgewater]

Very simple webpage that lets you pay with bitcoin and get 20% off all starbucks purchases.

Tried it the other day and it worked like a charm. No account signup or anything. Just click 10 dollars and send 8 dollars worth of bitcoin to the address it generates, and it fills a $10 barcode that you can scan at starbucks.

Since there's no account setup, you need to specify a change address to get your change if you don't spend the entire amount. I just use it to fill up my starbucks card so I can continue to earn free drinks and discounts--on top of the 20 percent off.

I'm not trying to advertise or anything. I was just really happy with the experience so I decided to share. This just seems so simple and easy. If it continues to be popular, Starbucks may cut them out of the loop entirely and start accepting bitcoin directly.

I suspect the way Fold is able to offer 20% off is through buying large quantities of gift card balances from Starbucks at an even larger discount, then using nifty processing to resell them into 5 10 and 25 dollar gift card denominations.

It would be great if someone tried something similar with Dash, or if one of our official representatives approached the Fold guys about accepting Dash. I've been put-off by the whole Gyft thing where they can track your every move and conversation with their intrusive phone app, and also require juggling a bunch of gift card balances just like physical ones. This approach is clean and more cash-like, and I think is a good interim solution that will lead to retailers eventually accepting crypto directly. It seems retailers like Starbucks, Whole Foods and Target who have newer digital gift card systems are already equipped to accept crypto in this semi-direct way.

https://coffee.foldapp.com/
https://foldapp.com/

 

[Runner44]

Sounds pretty awesome! How do you use it to fill up your Starbucks card?

 

[moli]

Sounds pretty awesome! How do you use it to fill up your Starbucks card?

How it works:
https://coffee.foldapp.com/
https://foldapp.com/faq

Basically...

How does this work?

We transfer $10 from your Bitcoin wallet into a virtual Starbucks gift card on your phone. The cashier scans your phone to complete the payment. If you don't use all of the money on the card, any remaining Bitcoin is transferred back to you.

Where does the 20% discount come in?

The discount is applied to the price that you pay in bitcoin. For example, to load $10, you only pay $8 worth of bitcoin.

Where is the refund sent?

BTC refunds are sent to whatever Bitcoin address you specify.

 

[Bridgewater]

Sounds pretty awesome! How do you use it to fill up your Starbucks card?

1. Tell them you want to "reload"
2. Tell them the $ amount you want to add
3. Scan your Starbucks card (destination account)
4. Tell them you want to pay with another Starbucks card or to "transfer a balance" and scan the Fold barcode.

 

[Runner44]

Oh cool! Thank you Bridgewater! I wasn't sure that the barista would transfer a balance without knowing the pin. . It's good to know they do. I will use it next time I go to Starbucks.