Pick n Pay is a South African supermarket chain that announced Tuesday that it now accepts Bitcoin for payments in its online store. According to a local media report.
Customers can now use Bitcoin (BTC), using any Lightning Network-enabled application, such as BlueWallet and Muun to pay for groceries, hygiene products, household supplies, or other products in the supermarket. The Lightning Network is a layer 2, built on Bitcoin blockchain. It speeds up transactions and is cheaper than the main Bitcoin network. This makes it attractive to businesses.
Pick n Pay claimed that the payment method was tested in 10 stores in the last five months. It is now available at 39 stores across the country. According to the report, the supermarket will soon roll out the payment system to all its stores across the country.
Pick n Pay spokeswoman said Bitcoin transactions were easy and safe, much like using debit and credit cards. The representative explained that customers scan the QR code on the app to accept the rand conversion rate displayed on their smartphone at time of transaction.
South Africa is still one of the most popular regions in Africa for cryptocurrency use. In South Africa, crypto is becoming more popular, especially Bitcoin. This is because the country has more than six million people who have cryptocurrency exposure.
South Africa ranks eighth worldwide in terms of crypto ownership among the public – 7.1% of its population owned digital currency as of 2021, more than in Britain or Brazil – according According to the United Nations trade office. Among African countries, crypto ownership is also common in Kenya and Nigeria.
Many young South Africans are involved in the hope of making money, despite warnings from financial professionals and authorities about the dangers associated with fraud, large losses, mental anguish, and other risks.
South Africa has declared crypto assets a financial product last month as part of its efforts to bring digital assets closer under the control of local authorities. This is to make it easier to allow regulators to monitor the market, and to help consumers.
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