Australian Bitcoin debit card operator Diamond Circle has announced the initial deployment of the world’s first cashless Bitcoin ATM.

The machine, which dispenses the contactless cards as well as allowing for top-ups and balance checking, has been installed at the Bluff Café in Surfers’ Paradise, Queensland, Australia.

“Unlike other Bitcoin ATM’s, the machine only supports Visa and Mastercard for the purchase of Bitcoin and cards, thus reducing security threats, the cost of holding cash … increasing margins and ongoing residual payments to distributors and owner/operators,” a press release explains in support of the rollout.

The machine retains security as a top priority despite the absence of cash, featuring AML/KYC compliance as well as “technology and a process that reduces the risk of chargebacks on the company,” Diamond Circle states.

The machine also features a barcode scanner to allow direct purchasing of goods at the point of installation without the need of a separate POS payment at the cashier.

Australian Bitcoin innovation has been heating up in recent months and the space is seeing quick emergence of competition. CoinJar announced earlier this month the rollout of its Swipe Bitcoin debit card, which unlike Diamond Circle’s offering is linked to a wallet.

The cashless ATM represents merely the first step in a sequence of innovations due to be released by Diamond Circle in the near future. A remittance facility is in the works, which will allow Bitcoin to be sent anywhere in the world and cashed out via SMS in a move broadly similar to projects in Africa and Mexico.

A range of POS applications are also in development to allow the NFC technology in Diamond Circle’s cards to be used with any NFC-enabled device such as Android, online gateways and corporate wallets.

Additionally, there are ambitious plans for card readers to be installed in high-traffic locations, allowing acceptance of the card at “gas stations, parking meters, mass transit including taxi cabs and by the local trader, without a cash risk.”

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