Pick n Pay expands crypto payments in South Africa

South African grocer Pick n Pay announced on Tuesday (November 1) that it has completed the first phase of a pilot allowing customers to pay in-store using the Lightning Network bitcoin payment protocol.

As it makes transactions cheaper and faster than doing business directly with the bitcoin blockchain, the Lightning Network is gaining ground in the field of retail crypto payments. For example, Strike has developed a Lightning-based payment solution that is integrated into the Shopify e-commerce platform.

See more: E-commerce platform Shopify integrates with Payments Network Strike to accept Bitcoin

In the pilot, the retailer tested a payment service technology that enables customers to buy groceries with cryptocurrency at checkout points with any bitcoin Lightning-enabled wallet.

With these, customers scan a QR code from their app and accept the rand conversion rate on their smartphone at the time of transaction. Pick n Pay claims that the service fee for each transaction costs the customer an average of just 70 cents.

The grocer ran the pilot in 10 Western Cape stores for the past five months and is now expanding the pilot to a further 29 stores. It stated that the intention is to roll out crypto payments to all stores in the coming months.

The retailer first began experimenting with bitcoin five years ago, when it ran a pilot in the staff canteen store at its head office in Cape Town. “It proved the concept, but the technology available at the time was too expensive for customers and it took too long to complete the transaction to make it sustainable,” the company said.

“This new technology means we can offer a low-cost service for high-volume, low-value transactions that will promote financial inclusion in South Africa,” Chris Shortt, Group CEO, Information and Technology, said in a press release.

“We are constantly enjoying and testing new technology so that we can add real value and choice to the customers we serve. This exciting pilot shows great potential and is another way we can help and support our customers,” he added.

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