After a three-month trial period, South African supermarket chain Pick n Pay is officially accepting Bitcoin payments over the Lightning Network on a national scale.
After a three-month trial run in 39 locations, the company has decided to accept Bitcoin (BTC) in all of its 1,628 retail outlets.
Customers at any of the participating stores in South Africa will soon be able to use their smartphones to make purchases using cryptocurrencies at the prevailing exchange rate between cryptocurrency and the South African rand.
Customers may use their Bitcoin Lightning Wallets and the CryptoQR scanner software from CryptoConvert to make purchases using Bitcoin. Customers first confirm the purchase price in their Lightning Wallet after scanning the item’s QR code using the CryptoQR app.
After years of testing the service in certain locations, the retailer has announced intentions to implement cryptocurrency payments system-wide beginning in November. In 2017, the firm tried out cryptocurrency payments by accepting Bitcoin in Cape Town, but slow processing times and high transaction fees hampered the initiative.
Pick n Pay collaborated with Electrum and CryptoConvert during its pilot program to implement Bitcoin Lightning Network payments, which use a separate layer on top of the Bitcoin blockchain to process off-chain transactions.
South Africa seems to be leading the way among African countries in embracing cryptocurrencies. Chainalysis’ 2022 Global Crypto Acceptance Index says that South Africa is 30th in the world in terms of how many people use cryptocurrencies. Between 10% and 13% of the population of South Africa may have some kind of cryptocurrency holdings, according to certain estimates.
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Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency investments are subject to market risks, and individuals should seek professional advice before making any investment decisions.
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