New Bitcoin NFC mobile payments provider Shake launches alpha test

Want to pay for your morning coffee with Bitcoin, but don’t want to carry a Bitcoin debit card?

Soon you will be able to with Canadian startup Shake Labs, Inc. releasing an alpha test of its new Near Field Communication (NFC) payment solution that allows users to pay for everyday items using Bitcoin and their mobile phones. The service itself creates a virtual credit card to make the payment at any point of sale (POS) terminal that supports NFC payments over the Visa network, and there are no fees when the transaction takes place; the service does have fees, however, with a 1 percent Bitcoin-to-fiat currency exchange fee, which is shared before loading any money on the card, and a 3 percent fee when a card is used to make a purchase in a foreign currency.