One of South Africa’s Biggest Supermarket Chains Expands Bitcoin Lightning Payme...

BitKE caught up with the Nadeem Anjarwalla, the new Binance Director for East Africa.

A corporate commercial lawyer by profession, Nadeem believes the crypto space has huge potential especially when it comes from financial inclusion.

“Its important for us to have policies that protect consumers and encourage innovation and move the industry forward. . . .  Its also time we built a lot of trust and transparency in the industry.” – Nadeem

Nadeem said the company is looking to grow its user base in East Africa and a lot of awareness and education will be needed to make this happen.

Speaking on regulation, Nadeem said the consensus on regulation in East Africa has been a wait-and-see attitude. In Kenya, conversations on crypto regulation have already started.

Here is a breakdown of the discussion:

• 00:00 – Intro
• 00:48 – About Nadeem
• 03:50 – Opinions on the global industry
• 07:17 – About digital currencies in East Africa
• 09:48 – Statistics on banking
• 10:44 – About Binance across Africa
• 11:39 – State of crypto regulation in Africa
• 13:31 – Thoughts on major banks warnings
• 15:33 – Different growth curves within E.A. countries
• 17:48 – Binance eco expansion
• 18:52 – Binance mobile money
• 20:44 – Legality in Binance
• 22:20 – To crypto enthuthiasts

Learn more about Binance and Nadeem:

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Pick n Pay, one of South Africa’s biggest supermarket chains, is now accepting bitcoin payments in all its stores following an announcement by technology provider, CryptoConvert.

Good news, everyone! CryptoQR is now active at all Pick-n-Pay stores across South Africa, including PnP express and clothing shops! You can also buy Airtime and Electricity, Plane and Bus tickets, and pay your municipal bills with #Bitcoin at the till! pic.twitter.com/3hVhgIJdTb

— CryptoQR (@CryptoConverted) February 1, 2023

In November 2022, as reported by BitKE, Pick n Pay made headlines when it begun a pilot program for Bitcoin payments in selected branches across South Africa.

In a statement, the retail chain indicated that it became the first major retailer in Africa to test the Bitcoin Lightning Network payments at their points of sale by integrating the CryptoConvert Lightning Payments API.

Also participating in the system is Electrum, a payment platform which connects CryptoConvert and Pick n Pay, letting customers pay with the Bitcoin Lightning technology at the till point.

According to Pick n Pay, the declaration of cryptocurrency as a financial product by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) opens the door for the widespread adoption of cryptocurrency as a payment method.

Pick n Pay said:

“While for many years crypto was something for specialists on their computers, or used by early adopters trying it out, things are changing… Increasingly, cryptocurrency is being used by those under-served by traditional banking systems, or by those wanting to pay and exchange money in a cheaper and really convenient way.” 

The news was confirmed by CryptoConvert founder, Carel van Wyk, who happens to have co – founded one of the leading crypto exchanges in South Africa, Luno.

You can now pay with #Bitcoin #Lightning directly at the till at all Pick n Pay outlets at over 1500 locations in South Africa. Ask for the "Contactless QR" payment option and use the CryptoQR QR scanner app with your favourite Lightning wallet. https://t.co/RlFoPGWVxO

— Carel Cat (@carelvwyk) February 1, 2023

“Ask for the ‘Contactless QR’ payment option and use the CryptoQR QR scanner app with your favorite Lightning wallet,” Van Wyk told local outlet, Mybroadband.

The Lightning Network is a secondary part of the Bitcoin system, often termed a second layer. While the primary layer is slow, built for security and size rather than speed, Lightning has its own set of rules separate from the main layer 1 blockchain allowing for much faster payments and much lower fees.

To access the service, shoppers need to have a standard Lightning Wallet on their phone that is already set up and funded. Recommended wallets include Muun wallet and BlueWallet, even though the solution was tested with a number of different wallets.

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