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You’ll now be able to unlock a new cryptobro flex by using Bitcoin to pay for your groceries.
Pick n Pay has been experimenting with cryptocurrency payments for a couple of years now and has just expanded its offering, allowing consumers to pay for groceries with Bitcoin at 39 stores nationwide.
This is following the success of an initial pilot, in which 10 Western Cape stores accepted Bitcoin payments over the past five months.
Pick n Pay is ready to accept Bitcoin payments at all its tills in all its stores “in the coming months”, reported Business Insider SA:
In 2017, PnP said, it tried out crypto payments at a canteen store at its head office. That served as a proof of concept, “but the available technology at the time was too expensive for shoppers and it took too long to finalise the transaction to make it sustainable.”
Now, it says, transactions take a matter of seconds, after setting up one of a range of available software solutions on a smartphone.
TechCentral has a word from the retailer:
“While for many years crypto was something for specialists on their computers, or used by early adopters trying it out, things are changing. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s recent announcement paves the way for cryptocurrency as a mainstream method of payment,” the retailer said in the statement.
“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 convenient way. Many companies are responding to this by accepting bitcoin,” it added.
The payments are made through the Bitcoin Lightning system, which takes less than 30 seconds, costs an average of 70 cents per transaction, and is pretty much as easy as swiping a debit card.
You’ll just need to download a trusted app that supports Bitcoin Lightning, such as the non-custodial wallets Zap or Muun, or a custodial wallet like Strike or Wallet of Satoshi:
The app, once set up and loaded with bitcoin, can be connected to the CryptoQR scanner app, which in turn can scan a QR code at the point of payment.
Then you have to accept the conversation rate from bitcoin to rand that is offered on your smartphone, and you are done.
Yes, that definitely sounds much easier than swiping the card that I removed from my wallet in a matter of seconds.
Check if you have a Pick n Pay nearby where you can already pay with Bitcoin.
The Western Cape has 13 options:
- Langeberg Mall, Mosselbay
- Sedgefield
- Stellenbosch Central and Stellenbosch Square
- Paarl Mall
- Willowbridge
- Local Big Bay
- Table Bay Mall
- Cavendish
- Kenilworth
- Kenilworth Campus
- Kenilworth Pam Golding
- Sea Point
- Waterfront
Across the rest of the country, Pick n Pays accepting crypto payments include Mall of Africa, Beacon Bay, Bedfordview, Centurion, Fourways Mall, and PnP on Nicol.
It’s all fun and games until you get stuck behind someone trying to figure out how to do this on the fly.
Please, in the name of all that is sacred in this world, set it up before you reach the till.
[sources:businessinsider&techcentral]
