Because of “super frustrating” KYC requirements and BitPay $10 limit, 27,324,757 members of Chess.com will now have to pay their membership plans with fiat and other alternatives, not Bitcoin. The temporary decision to suspend payment with the world’s most liquid and superior currency was made by the CEO, Erik Allebest.
“I did NOT know that we can’t receive more than $10 at a time on this account!? It didn’t say that anywhere I saw. Anyway, in order to accept our membership payments I have to send in my personal utility bills or mortgage documents, photos of my drivers license or passport, and a bunch of company documents. That’s super frustrating, and given that I’m out of town, impossible until next week :/ Anyway, I will get to it, but I have to say that this is a frustrating amount of bureaucracy, and I hope these KYC issues get resolved one day.”
With Stephen Pair as CEO since 2011, BitPay is the world’s leading Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash processor allowing merchants from all over the world to receive BTC or BCH instantaneously. Originally formed as the first contribution to the Bitcoin ecosystem, BitPay charges fees for use despite their two-star rating at Trust Pilot, the world’s largest Bitcoin processor has been largely successful in “creating a seamless, secure Bitcoin payment experience in use daily by hundreds of thousands of users.”
These low ratings points to underlying problems and some may be because of the widespread use of the cryptocurrency. The decision to suspend BTC payment is due to tiring KYC rules and the realization that payments above $10 cannot be made. But it appears that it is not all about KYC and what nots, users are complaining of unnecessary fees, bizarre service and the failure of the platform to make refund.
Extracts from Trust Pilot reviews point to dissatisfaction as below:
One user says
“The sole presence of this service is making everyone’s life hard. I could not pay an invoice using their own wallet copay. I don’t know if this is normal for you but to me seems incredible stupid.”
Another adds:
“Absolutely bizarre service. Wrote me an email to say a refund was on its way and then never provided refund. When questioned after dozens of emails their final response was: it was the merchant’s fault and “DON’T BOTHER US ANYMORE” (my capitals).”
However, some are completely satisfied with their service:
“As a buyer I found BitPay to be great. I used it to buy gold with bitcoin. Worked a treat.”
All the same, until BitPay issues are resolved, Chess.com users won’t pay their plans with Bitcoin. Regardless, Erik is a Believer.
