Germany-based startup BitXatm has announced the arrival of its Sumo Pro – a cryptocurrency ATM with a POS (point of sale) function that will appeal to merchants seeking to easily accept payments from customers in digital currencies.
Costing €2,900 (around $3,993), the stand-alone machine offers a generous 17-inch touchscreen and has the ability to accept any fiat currency. Additionally, it can accept or dispense any digital currency, according to the company’s website.
Operators of the Sumo Pro are able to link up with any exchange partner’s API to facilitate the supply of digital currencies, improve liquidity and enhance security.
The machine offers a web-based back-end, so owners can keep an eye on cash flow, profits, or change settings such as the fiat-to-bitcoin exchange rate from their web browser. Furthermore, proprietors can opt to receive SMS notifications for things like transactions or fund balance.
For businesses that need to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) laws, the machine provides an identification check on customers using the device’s ATM function, which can be further enhanced with an optional fingerprint scanner.
How it works
As illustrated in the video below, the Sumo Pro offers a quick and easy method for customers to pay for products or services using their mobile devices.
In the restaurant example shown, the waitress sets up a transaction at payment time by logging into her staff account and entering the bill total, then prints out a paper receipt for the customer.
The customer then scans the QR code on the receipt into his or her digital wallet, checks the amount, then clicks ‘send’. The transaction indicates it’s complete soon after on the Sumo Pro screen, and the customer is free to go – or do the washing up if they don’t have sufficient funds.
The process looks very simple – certainly as easy as paying with a credit card – and the Sumo Pro also provides a reassuringly professional looking front end that should help to inspire confidence in new bitcoin customers possibly made wary by recent media gloom surrounding cryptocurrencies.
The BitXatm machine also offers merchants the chance to bring in some extra income via interest on transactions when the Sumo Pro is used in its ATM mode.
Competitive market
The Sumo Pro is manufactured in Romania, according to BitXatm. It will start shipping machines in May. If they sell out, there will be a 30-day pre-order window for new purchases.
The company faces increasing competition from other startups in the bitcoin ATM arena: Robocoin has seen great success and sends machines all over the globe, as does Lamassu, who also plans to enhance its machines for other bitcoin services, such as remittances. Other companies are also gearing up for the fray.
However, the unique selling proposition of the Sumo Pro is its user-friendly POS feature. If it really is as simple as the video would have us believe, it may be a product that will start finding its way into the mainstream.
BitXatm also aims to carve itself a decent slice of the market with the very competitive €2,900 price tag. Robocoin (at $20,000) and Lamassu (at $5,000) are both pricer and offer fewer functions – for now. Yesterday’s announcement of a €1,000 ATM from PayMaQ may worry the company, but their machine lacks the attractive POS function of the Sumo Pro.
This is the kind of technology that many have been pushing for: easy-to-use, with elegant systems to ease the on-ramp for consumers and businesses alike entering the world of digital currencies. Let’s hope the Sumo Pro lives up to its potential.
Why not check out Money-Spinners, our regular roundup of the latest cryptocurrency ATMs?