Pick n Pay refers to a large chain of supermarkets. It occupies a pride of place amongst South Africa’s supermarket chains. These shopping centers are ready to permit payment for varied items via Bitcoin. In other words, Bitcoin will be deemed as a legitimate payment.
A Nationwide Rollout
Ever since its launch in 2009, Bitcoin has been deemed the King of cryptocurrencies. As the investment and trading platform, bitlq.app conveys, crypto enthusiasts across the globe, favor it largely. Therefore, Pick n Pay’s decision should come as a welcome surprise to them!
Tech Central is a tech news outlet that is popular across South Africa. It has taken up the responsibility of disseminating this information. The supermarket chain had been experimenting with cryptocurrencies for several years. However, it had been doing so, only in select stores.
Chris Shortt is Pick n Pay’s group executive for IT. He is happy that cryptocurrency technology has been evolving and advancing so much, over the years. The company realized this while exploring methods of online payment. It is why it has become possible for the supermarket chain to offer such an affordable service to loyal, as well as, potential customers.
How It Will Work
A customer could be in any geographical location in South Africa. It does not matter. The individual will just have to install a trusted app on a Smartphone. This app will permit payment through Bitcoins for online purchases.
An alternative method of payment is to scan a QR code. The scanning is possible via acceptance of the rand conversion rate. The conversion takes place while the customer is paying for purchases made online.
Pick n Pay has been in partnership with Electrum and CryptoConvert, for several years. It is why it has been able to make a success of its pilot project. The partnership has enabled consumers to utilize the services of the Bitcoin Lightning Network, to pay for purchased items.
Thanks to its earlier success with select stores, Pick n Pay will now be able to promote low-value transactions. Similarly, high volumes of trade may go through quickly and efficiently. This way, it will become possible to encourage financial inclusion, that is, the inclusion of crypto payments, in South Africa.
Role of FSCA
The FSCA aimed to make digital currencies popular in the African region. FSCA refers to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority in South Africa. In October 2022, the organization amended its financial advisory.
The idea was to award a lucid definition to the term, digital/cryptocurrency assets. The amendment decided to refer to these assets as financial products. Therefore, financial service providers would be able to offer digital currencies.
These South Africans could be based within the country. They could be residing in other geographical locations. It would not matter. The South African authorities would inspect and approve/disapprove their services. Approvals would lead to the awarding of licenses. Then, the financial service providers could operate without fear.
Successful Implementation of Payment Via Bitcoin
When it began experimenting, Pick n Pay had inclined toward Bitcoin, rather than toward any other digital currency. Hence, its stores in Cape Town had been allowing customers to pay for items through BTC. This experimentation had been going on for five years.
However, there had been hindrances to complete success. The Bitcoin network demanded heavy transaction charges. Even the waiting time for a transaction to go through had been lengthy.
Fortunately, things have smoothened out now. Therefore, it has become possible to offer this unique service to every single outlet, across the nation. The nationwide rollout will be spread over several months.
Chainalysis keeps a vigilant eye on crypto-adopting nations across the globe. It publishes its findings in the form of The Global Crypto Adoption Index. The Index for 2022 was published in September.
According to a survey, South Africa occupies the position of 30th nation, regarding the adoption of digital currencies. It is because awareness about the value of virtual currencies is on the rise. Many South Africans are now viewing them as profitable sources of income. Around 10%-13% of them, already own digital assets. However, the choice of digital currency is personal and left to the individual. Some investors even go for multiple virtual currencies.