Retail outlet Pick n Pay has announced it will soon allow payments via cryptocurrency.
This is massive news from the retail outlet which has constantly moved to be ahead of its time in the retail industry.
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The feature to allow transactions via cryptocurrency is in its testing phase across a number of stores in the Western Cape.
Pick n Pay will soon allow transactions which means customers could buy groceries with cryptocurrency at till points.
This decision comes after the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) set the ball rolling to allow crypto as a method of payment.
A draft for the regulatory framework for regulating cryptocurrency was underway.
The South African Reserve Bank earlier announced it was working on frameworks to regulate crypto transactions.
The reserve soon culminated to define crypto as a financial asset rather than just currency.
This means the roll out of an approach to regulate cryptocurrency would be made in phases.
The crypto asset eco system has grown immeasurably over the last decade and it seems Pick n Pay is not the only player seeing it’s potential.
Pick n Pay has been experimenting with crypto payments for several years testing at around 39 stores nationwide.
The retail giant is planning to introduce the system to all it’s stores in the upcoming months.
How it will work
Customers will be able to make payments using their smart phones.
With any Bitcoin lightning enabled app, including BlueWallet, customers will be able to facilitate payments.
It will be like swiping your card at till points, with a service fee charged.
Simply scan a QR code from the app and accept the rand conversion rate on your smartphone.
Customers will be charged around 70 cents should the system kick into motion.
Ten stores around Western Cape were used for the pilot over the past five months.
Pick n Pay is most likely to introduce the pilot to more stores which include Mall of Africa in the coming months.
Stores which will be part of the transition are:
- Mall of Africa
- Mall of the North
- Mall of the South
- Menlyn Shopping Centre
- Pick n Pay on Nicol
- Nelspruit
- Sedgefield
- Stellenbosch Central and Stellenbosch Square
- Paarl Mall
- Willowbridge
- Local Big Bay
- Table Bay Mall
- Cavendish
- Kenilworth
- Kenilworth Campus
- Bedfordview
- Centurion
- Fourways Mall
- PnP Qualisave Carlton Centre
- PnP Qualisave Diepsloot
- PnP Qualisave Midrand
- PnP Qualisave Rustenburg
- PnP Qualisave Commercial Road
- PnP Qualisave North Beach
- PnP Qualisave The Workshop
- PnP Qualisave Goodwood
- Hyper Bloemfontein
- Hyper Durban North
- Hyper Northgate
- Hyper Ottery
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