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by bduerst 4479 days ago
I am curious too as to how this is the U.S. Government's fault.

To be a money transmitter, it requires that you have a license, and it sounds like Robocoin is trying to mitigate their risk (e.g. losing their license and going out of business) by being able to prove who you are, in case they become party to illegal activity.
1 comments
jnbiche 4479 days ago
The strict KYC/AML laws are all federal laws (many stemming from the PATRIOT act).

State money transmission laws have traditionally been oriented toward consumer protection and not toward prosecuting money laundering (and so they traditionally didn't require any IDs or other proof of identification from anyone except the business owners).

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bduerst 4479 days ago
But how does that apply here? You specifically said:

> For the whole fingerprint, photo, ID, social security, etc. dance, let's place the blame squarely on the proper shoulders here: the U.S. government.

I don't have to take a photo, give social security, or scan a hand print when I exchange foreign currency with a money transmitter...

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jnbiche 4479 days ago
>I don't have to take a photo, give social security, or scan a hand print when I exchange foreign currency with a money transmitter...

1. FinCEN has declared that a Bitcoin exchange (such as this ATM) is not subject to the same laws as foreign exchanges, but rather is a money transmitter, and thus subject to much stricter regulation (such as identification required starting at $0 instead of $1000).

2. When was the last time you exchanged foreign money in the U.S.? When I last exchanged foreign currency in the U.S. (in the past few years), I needed to provide a photo ID and my social security no. I believe this is strictly required only when you exchange over $1000, but many exchanges require them for all transactions.

3. Note that when you provide a photo ID, the end result is the same as if they had taken a photograph on the spot (your photo is copied and filed).

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bduerst 4478 days ago
That makes more sense. Thanks.

It has been two years since I was last at a foreign currency exchange here, and things could have changed since then as well.

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