Crypto-currency exchange VALR has entered into a partnership with payments company CryptoConvert, to enable digital currency payments at Pick n Pay till points across South Africa.
The partnership will see users being able to use VALR Pay to spend Bitcoin for the purchase of goods and services at the retailer − one of the largest supermarket chains in Sub-Saharan Africa – via the VALR mobile app.
Last year, Pick n Pay announced it had started trailing Bitcoin payments at its stores.
This, after the Financial Sector Conduct Authority formally declared crypto as a financial product in South Africa.
VALR, established in 2018, says it has processed over $10 billion in trading volume and has raised $55 million since launch.
The platform enables the ability to trade Bitcoin and a range of other crypto assets. According to the company, it serves half a million retail customers and over 800 corporate and institutional clients from across the globe.
“We’re excited about this partnership. It is a great leap forward for the utility of VALR Pay. It opens up crypto payments to a much wider audience than what was previously possible in South Africa,” says Blake Player, VALR head of growth.
The company explains that VALR Pay clients can use the Bitcoin held in their VALR account to pay directly at the point of sale.
“When we developed VALR Pay, our vision was to first create free, fast and easy peer-to-peer payments and then to facilitate payment acceptance at merchants. The acceptance of VALR Pay at over 1 500 Pick n Pay stores across South Africa brings this vision to fruition,” says Farzam Ehsani, VALR co-founder and CEO.
“We’ve built a powerful API [application programming interface] to enable other businesses, like CryptoConvert, to leverage our technology to create beautiful products and services with us.”
“This partnership with VALR enables us to make crypto payments available to a much larger audience than before,” says Carel van Wyk, founder of CryptoConvert.
“Crypto-currency is founded on the idea of open standards and collaborative innovation. VALR’s commitment to providing useful tools and infrastructure to the industry exemplifies that, to the benefit of everyone.”
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