Pick n Pay to accept Bitcoin in 1,500 stores across South Africa

CryptoConvert has declared that its CryptoQR platform is now operative at all Pick n Pay stores in South Africa, ensuring shoppers can process payment with Bitcoin via the Lightning network.

This update comes after a three-month pilot testing phase in 39 locations. In November last year, Pick n Pay expanded its Bitcoin payment trial across 39 stores.

As part of its nationwide rollout, store customers will be able to pay for items using cryptocurrency via smartphone apps or by scanning a QR code and accepting the South African rand’s conversion rate at the time of payment.

Shoppers will also purchase airtime, electricity, flight, and bus tickets and pay municipal bills with Bitcoin at the till. Pick n’ Pay worked with Electrum and CryptoConvert to create the system. The Electrum payment platform connects CryptoConvert and Pick n Pay, ensuring that customers pay with Bitcoin Lightning technology at the till.

“While for many years crypto was something for specialists on their computers or used by early adopters trying it out, things are changing,” Pick n Pay stated.

Pick n Pay announced the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s classification of cryptocurrency as a financial product and established cryptocurrency acceptance as a mainstream payment scheme. In October, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) readjusted its financial advisory legislation to identify crypto assets as financial products, drafting cryptocurrencies under regulation for the first time in South Africa.

Read Also: Finder report predicts Bitcoin to peak at $29k in 2023; how realistic is this?

“Increasingly, cryptocurrency is being used by those underserved by traditional banking systems or by those wanting to pay and exchange money in a cheaper and really convenient way,” it said.

More Details on Pick n Pay’s acceptance of Bitcoin in South Africa

CryptoConvert founder Carel Van Wyk, who also co-founded South Africa’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange Luno, conceded that CryptoQR is now operative at all 1,500 Pick n Pay outlets in South Africa.

“Ask for the ‘Contactless QR’ payment option and use the CryptoQR QR scanner app with your favorite Lightning wallet,” said Van Wyk. 

The Lightning Network is a scaling layer for Bitcoin that provides immediate transactions and minimizes network costs. A transaction processed on the Bitcoin blockchain takes more time. It requires roughly 30 minutes and an hour to settle, decided by how sure the receiver wants to be that it is legalized.

Read Also: Nigeria’s cashless bid propels Bitcoin premium to 63% 

When the blockchain becomes engaged, transactions can also become costly. Bitcoin transactions can be processed swiftly and cheaply on the Lightning Network’s distinct infrastructure layer, while settlement afterwards occurs on the main Bitcoin blockchain.

To use this feature, customers must install a Lightning network-compatible Bitcoin wallet on their gadgets, like BlueWallet or Muun, and transfer some Bitcoin to it. Also, to ensure you are set, you must install the CryptoQR app. In surveying, pick the contactless QR payment option on the card terminal, scan the QR code with CryptoQr, and approve the transaction in the wallet. Considering all that has been highlighted, the transaction cost is R0.06.

“Cryptocurrency combines the convenience of cash with the safety and security of electronic identification measures, like biometrics and cryptographic encryption,” Van Wyk said with the pilot’s launch last year.

“It is also cheaper than credit cards or the cost of handling cash.” But more importantly, it is a digital payment that is open to anyone, including those unable to use traditional digital payment options.