South Africans with a Luno wallet will be able to pay at Pick n Pay stores with crypto in one-step by simply scanning a QR code, Luno’s country manager for South Africa, Christo de Wit said in a statement yesterday.
Crypto payments have been available at over 1 500 Pick n Pay stores since February 2023, the only major SA retailer to provide such facilities. But the payment process required customers to download two apps to make a crypto payment.
“To make it quick and easy, Luno customers will open their Luno app and scan a QR code at the till to pay in Bitcoin. Luno employees were the first to test the in-app QR scanner which will be available at the tills in a week.
The very first purchase - watched with interest by (Luno employees) via a live webcast - was a box of Ouma rusks,” de Wit said.
Luno Bitcoin payments will be possible at Pick n Pay hypermarkets, supermarkets, Express stores and Pick n Pay Clothing within the next week.
Customers can buy groceries and other value-added services, such as airtime, lights and bus tickets, and pay municipal bills with Bitcoin at the till. Luno does not charge its customers a fee to use the service.
“The declaration of cryptocurrency as a financial product by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority paves the way for greater adoption in South Africa. Pick n Pay is to be applauded for being an early adopter merchant and getting to grips with cryptocurrencies,” said De Wit.
The improvement in crypto payments was made possible by a collaboration between Luno and CryptoConvert, a company that makes crypto payments safe and simple.
CryptoConvert founder Carel van Wyk, who also co-founded Luno, said: “As the pioneer in crypto payments in South Africa, we are thrilled to partner with Luno, an established and trusted crypto app, to ensure that customers have access to a growing network of retailers and merchants who accept crypto payments.” The functionality will be available to customers on Android and iOS.
Luno is a global cryptocurrency investment app that has introduced over 12 million people to crypto. It is available in more than 40 countries across Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.
BUSINESS REPORT