Did you know that bitcoin ATMs can generate additional revenue for store owners? According to a 2021 survey, more than 35% of CoinFlip ATM customers made a retail purchase during their trip to the ATM.

To uncover some of the additional benefits for ATM hosts, we sat down with CoinFlip’s Host Success Manager, Jorge Mora, and had him field some of the most commonly asked questions from prospective ATM hosts. Explore our chat with Jorge below and see why joining the FlipFam can lead to an added income stream for your business.

Q: Do CoinFlip ATMs take up a lot of space?

A: Not at all. The footprint for one of our crypto ATMs is only 3 square feet. It’s surprisingly sleek, and that’s a piece of feedback we get from hosts pretty often.

Q:What are some of the common technical questions business owners might get from customers when they host a bitcoin ATM in their store?

A: If someone wants to buy crypto at the ATM, CoinFlip asks for their phone number and a digital wallet address. The phone number is self explanatory but the digital wallet may be new territory, especially for first-time crypto investors. Hosts might get questions like, “What’s a digital wallet?” or “How do I enter my wallet address?”

There are step-by-step instructions on the screen for scanning the QR code for a wallet address at the crypto ATM, but customers may not know they need to have a wallet set up if it’s their first attempt at buying bitcoin at an ATM. Knowing the basics, such as that you’ll need your digital wallet set up before you buy crypto at the ATM, would be helpful so that hosts are in a position to answer those technical questions from customers, or to direct customers to CoinFlip’s 24/7 Customer Support line

Q: On a scale of 0-10, with 0 being minimal effort and 10 being the highest level of effort, how would you rate the effort required from ATM hosts who partner with CoinFlip?

A: I won’t say it’s 0 because they have to let us into the store to install the ATM and set it up, but it’s pretty close! Maybe 1 is the best answer here – minimal effort for sure. Our sales team works with the host to find the best spot that can bring traction to your store, and from there we handle the installation and activation of the ATM. We also handle cash pickup and continued maintenance.

Q: Is there any type of retail operation that you might consider a more natural fit for hosting a bitcoin ATM than others?

A: I’d say any place with decent foot traffic is a good fit. There’s a wide variety of businesses that host our bitcoin ATMs now: gas stations, liquor stores, convenience stores, vape shops, tattoo parlors, tobacco shops, grocery stores, CBD shops…the list goes on. But as long as it’s a place where customers feel comfortable visiting the ATM then it will be a good location for crypto investors to come in and visit – and the bonus for store owners is the extra foot traffic and revenue our bitcoin ATMs can help generate.

Q: How can hosts use their CoinFlip ATM to generate more loyal customers?

A: The bottom line is that a person who’s looking for a quick way to convert their cash into crypto is going to find a crypto ATM somewhere, and there’s practically no reason to not have that place be your store. And we see that crypto fans are willing to travel to find the bitcoin ATMs with better fees (separate topic, but that’s why CoinFlip does a rate-match guarantee). So if you’ve got a collection of people who are highly motivated to pick up some crypto, then that’s a great hook to get them in your store.

We see that 60% of CoinFlip ATM customers spend an average of $25 on in-store purchases.

Q: Crypto is certainly exciting these days, and the volatility in the market may be a bit more exciting than many investors are used to. Do you ever encounter business owners who think that crypto investing might be too risky to introduce to their customers via a bitcoin ATM in their store?

A: Like any other asset, it rests on crypto investors’ shoulders to do their homework and only invest money that they can afford to lose. Yes, there’s risk involved in crypto. But some people look at the volatility of crypto markets and they like it. It’s really in a class of its own. One thing that we often hear from people who are excited about crypto is that they’re buying in now because they see this as the future of money. Plus, there’s the ease of remittance payments through crypto. So let’s take a situation where you have a person who’s sending money to family members abroad. Crypto is fast and there are no wire transfer fees like you’d see with money wires or the banks. And let’s not forget about people who don’t use banks at all – for them, turning cash into bitcoin is a long-term investment strategy that the traditional financial systems aren’t offering. Now, that crypto ATM in their neighborhood is the lifeline they’ve been looking for to build a nest egg for retirement or create some liquid funds they can move around easily when traditional credit sources aren’t part of the mix.

Q: ATMs are a cash business at the end of the day. How would you answer a business owner’s questions about security or handling maintenance if they host a crypto ATM in their store(s)?

A: The Host Success team is responsible for touching base with ATM hosts on a regular basis. The resources that we provide to ATM hosts from day one are geared toward creating a very smooth and frictionless operation. But things come up, inevitably, and there’s only so much you can plan for, but that’s why we invest in the team at CoinFlip HQ so they’re available for hosts and can provide timely answers whenever they’re needed. Technical issues get special attention from Host Success and we have an award-winning customer service team that's available 24/7.

One of the tried-and-true ways to see if a CoinFlip ATM is right for your business is to try one for yourself – use our handy ATM locator to find a bitcoin ATM near you.

Are you looking to add a bitcoin ATM to your business? Sign up to become a CoinFlip ATM host today!