The South African retail giant, Pick n Pay, has reported a significant increase in the value of monthly cryptocurrency payments, rising from approximately $1,350 to $54,000. The regions of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape in South Africa account for the lion’s share of Pick n Pay’s crypto transactions.
Shoppers at South Africa’s retail giant, Pick n Pay, spend approximately $54,000 (ZAR 1 million) on groceries, data, and municipal bills using Bitcoin (BTC). This figure contrasts with the average of $1,350 per month reported when the retailer launched its crypto payment services. According to a Global Crypto TV report, crypto transactions are more pronounced at Pick n Pay’s outlets in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape.
As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, Pick n Pay began accepting BTC as a payment method at all its stores in early 2023. The decision to accept BTC payments followed the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s (FSCA) declaration of the crypto asset as a financial product.
Deven Moodley, head of value-added services, financial services, and the mobile division at Pick n Pay, stated that crypto payments are an integral part of the retailer’s Ways2Pay strategy. This strategy aims to offer a variety of payment mechanisms in their stores.
“For years, crypto was something only computer boffins knew about, but Pick n Pay has paved the way for our shoppers to be early adopters in using their digital currency as a method of everyday payment,” Moodley said.
Besides augmenting Pick n Pay’s array of payment methods, the Bitcoin payment option aligns with the retailer’s broader objective of reducing cash dependency and bridging the financial exclusion gap.
Meanwhile, Carel van Wyk, founder of Money Badger, which has facilitated the enablement of crypto payments for Pick n Pay, asserts that the transition from its perception as a speculative asset to being recognized as a digital currency partially accounts for the retailer’s increase in crypto transactions.