Pick n Pay, one of South Africa’s leading retailers, is now reportedly accepting bitcoin as a form of payment at all of its stores across the country. Using the Bitcoin Lightning Network, Pick n Pay customers can now purchase items like groceries, airtime, and electricity tokens.
Wearing BTC for daily purchases
Just a few months after it began accepting bitcoin payments at select outlets, South African retailer Pick n Pay (PNP) now accepts bitcoin at its more than 1,500 stores across the country. According to reports, PNP customers can now buy groceries, airtime, and electricity using bitcoin’s Lightning network.
As Bitcoin.com News reported in November 2022, the South African retail giant’s acceptance of bitcoin as a means of payment was made possible by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s (FSCA) decision to declare cryptocurrencies a commodity. financial. Prior to that, the PNP said it had experimented with BTC payments at one of its staff canteens in 2017. While the experiments were successful, the retailer said using the technology at the time was apparently not cost-effective.
JUST IN: 🇿🇦 One of South Africa’s largest retailers, Pick n Pay, now officially accepts #Bitcoin and Lightning payments in ALL its more than 1,500 stores 🙌
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) February 1, 2023
Reacting to the announcement, Crypto QR, a South African-based crypto payments company, hailed the PNP move allowing residents to use bitcoin for everyday purchases.
“Good news everyone! Crypto QR is now active in all Pick-n-Pay stores in South Africa, including PnP express and clothing stores! You can also buy air and electricity tickets, plane and bus tickets, and pay your municipal bills with Bitcoin at the till,” Crypto QR said in a tweet.
The legitimate use of Bitcoin in a store
Meanwhile, some Twitter users have praised PNP for taking a step that helps those looking to promote the use and adoption of bitcoin as an alternative payment method. One user, Kelly Yanes, said this is the first time she’s “seeing legitimate uses of bitcoin in person in a public space and store.”
Until BTC stabilizes in price using it to buy things is a horrible idea. Seconds after you buy something it can go up and you paid a ton more
—NoFilterNoFluff (@7th_Rule) February 2, 2023
However, some other users were quick to point out the downsides of using the crypto asset for everyday purchases.
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