South African consumers can now use Bitcoin, stablecoins, and other crypto assets to pay at hundreds of thousands of retail stores nationwide, following a new partnership between QR payments provider Scan to Pay and crypto payments company MoneyBadger, news reports said.
The integration enables users of major cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Luno, Blink, and VALR, to make purchases via a QR code at over 650,000 Scan to Pay-enabled merchants, effectively bringing crypto into the mainstream shopping experience.
The system allows crypto holders to scan a QR code at the checkout counter, directly linking the payment to their exchange or Bitcoin Lightning accounts. Crucially, merchants will continue to receive their settlement instantly in South African Rand (ZAR), insulating them from crypto price volatility.
This expansion means that crypto can now be used for everyday purchases like groceries, meals, and online shopping at major retail chains connected to the network, such as Shoprite, Checkers, Makro, and Vodacom.
Theo Koma, Product Owner at Scan to Pay, hailed the collaboration as a step toward financial inclusion, noting that the system removes the cumbersome step of converting crypto back into fiat currency for users.
Carel van Wyk, CEO of MoneyBadger, stated that the rollout reflects a significant market shift.
“South Africans are increasingly moving from holding Bitcoin as an investment to using it for everyday spending,” van Wyk said. “This move expands the number of places where South Africans can pay with Bitcoin significantly.”
The sentiment aligns with the original vision of Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, suggesting a growing local demand for using crypto’s utility in daily transactions.
The partnership also significantly expands the reach for participating crypto platforms; local exchange Luno noted the integration connects its 30,000 merchant base with Scan to Pay’s extensive network of outlets. Merchants, meanwhile, benefit by attracting the crypto-savvy consumer base without needing to modify their existing Scan to Pay acceptance infrastructure.
