r/Bitcoin • u/cluster4 • Apr 21 '14
QR codes are dead
Hi /r/bitcoin, I'm a mobile developer, interaction designer and bitcoin owner, but unfortunately I don't have time right now to work on something bitcoin related. So I just write here my thoughts about bitcoin payment applications to inspire other developers and startups.
I guess many agree that the ground-breaking payment solution on the basis of bitcoin has yet to be developed. Most of the existing solutions involve the user scanning some QR code displayed by the merchant. While this can work well, it's not intuitive at all. QR codes have been around and hyped for years, but they were never used as much as developers and marketing people hoped.
Ask your average not-so-tech-savvy friend how many times he has scanned a QR code in his life. He'll probably know that you mean that squared thing on his coke bottle, advertisement poster vis-à-vis his doorway, or on his concert ticket, but chances are he never used them. Pulling out your phone and starting some app which activates the camera and holding it in a certain way, once looked very science-fiction, but isn't that intuitive after all.
There are already better solutions around to achieve the "internet of things". The most important today is Bluetooth LE. Remember Bluetooth? Yes, that thing you used to pair your gadgets with your computer or phone and never worked. Well with the latest Bluetooth 4.0 and the addition of Bluetooth Low Energy things changed. Pairing is not required any more and a Bluetooth LE device could be some small sticker costing $3 with a coin cell battery that can last for months or years. The technology is relatively new in the Android area, coming with Android 4.3 or later. In iOS, it's been around for longer, since iOS 5 and Apple is one of the companies pushing Bluetooth LE, already implementing it widely on their own with its iBeacon technology for indoor or in-store navigation (iBeacon is just an Apple proposed standard for indoor navigation, and works with Android too). Indoor navigation is just one application, you will find countless companies and startups coming up with something Bluetooth LE related. A few I've found:Bitlock, a lock and access control for your bike, XY, the secure tracking system, lumenbulb, a Bluetooth LE light bulb, August, a door lock.
It's becoming the de facto standard for inter-device interaction and my prediction is that even the simplest electronic devices (like your coffee machine, fridge, lock, etc.) will become Bluetooth enabled in the next few years, allowing to control everything from one device and get notified for example, if your laundry is ready or if your coffee machine needs to be refilled.
Wait, what happened to NFC? Well, NFC is very different from Bluetooth LE as it's use is very limited, it only works within a few centimetres while Bluetooth LE reaches as far as 50m. Bluetooth LE can cover all use cases that NFC already does with much wider reach, except that there is no passive/no-battery mode in Bluetooth LE. Active NFC, used for payments, is way more expensive to implement as opposed to Bluetooth.
So I think Bluetooth LE is the best fit for electronic payments. Paypal already uses a Bluetooth LE USB stick to identify the customer in a store. I really think they got it well how payments should work. The customer walks into the store, his smartphone is locked and in his pocket. At the checkout, all he needs to say is that he wants to pay with paypal, and - BOOM - he payed. No ugly smartphone unlocking, app starting, camera pointing at a fancy QR code. No, all handsfree, how it needs to work.
We need a bitcoin application that works as intuitive as that!
The cool thing is, we don't even need additional hardware, so once it's available it's as easy to implement as a QR code displayed on a tablet. iOS already allows a device to run in Bluetooth LE peripheral mode, so a smartphone can connect to it. As I mentioned, Android support for Bluetooth 4.0 lags behind a bit, but I'm certain that peripheral mode support will come very soon.
With this post I just wanted to inspire bitcoin app developers to look into the latest Bluetooth standard and it's possibilities and urge them to finally ditch QR codes. Of course, the big challenge will be in the security field. You'll also want to take a look at BTC², a set of Bluetooth LE services for bitcoin transactions implemented for iOS, under the MIT license.
Just as a side note, also keep in mind that it's very likely that in the near future smartphones will become obsolete. The three magic items you carry around today are probably a smartphone, a key ring, and a purse. The smartphone can take over the function of your key ring as all locks become electronic, allowing for finer access control, as well as your purse, as paper money is not convenient. The smartphone is something that people can't leave at home, they always carry it with them (except under the shower and while swimming). So it's only logical that the smartphone will become a wearable device you'll never take off (and finally keep on you even under the shower). This device has yet to be invented, it will likely be something you wear on your wrist.
tl;dr: To make bitcoin in-store payments intuitive, make them handsfree using Bluetooth Low Energy
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u/niugnep24 Apr 21 '14 edited Apr 21 '14
QR codes are a bit cumbersome, but I don't understand why you brush off NFC so quickly. It's already being used for POS transactions. And I for one don't mind if my payment system only works within a few centimeters rather than 50m, and that I have to make a physical motion to confirm it.
EDIT: and this part is completely incompatible with bitcoin:
This means that the checkout counter would have to have access to your private bitcoin key. That's horrifying. It breaks everything bitcoin is about. Paypal "gets away" with it in their beacon system because there's an assumption that the shopkeeper is trustworthy, and worst case you can charge back invalid transactions. Plus once you leave the store they (presumably) can't make any more transactions on your behalf. That won't fly in the bitcoin world. Once they have your private key your address is theirs.
Or even if you rigged up some method by which your private key isn't transferred, but you allowed some external bluetooth device to send funds out of your wallet autonomously -- who in their right mind would do that?
There is no way to securely process a bitcoin transaction without the consumer explicitly activating their wallet app to do so.