Pick n Pay, South Africa’s largest supermarket chain, now accepts cryptocurrency as a form of in-store payment. The pilot ran in ten Western Cape stores over the last five months. It has since been extended to a further 29 stores, with plans to roll the payment method out across all stores in the coming months.
"This new technology means we can provide an affordable service for high volume, low-value transactions that will promote financial inclusion in South Africa. We are constantly innovating and testing new technology so that we can add real value and choice for the customers we serve. This exciting pilot shows huge potential and is another way we can help and support our customers,” said Chris Shortt, Group Executive - Information and Technology (CITO).
The technology allows customers to buy groceries at till points with any Bitcoin Lightning-enabled app such as BlueWallet or Muun. For payment to be processed, customers scan the QR code and accept the Rand conversion on their smartphones. Each transaction costs, on average, 70 cents.
In 2017, the technology was trialled at the Pick n Pay head office canteen, but the technology at the time was too expensive to implement sustainably.
