Crypto exchange Luno in South Africa is now making payment with crypto possible at more than 31,000 merchants, partnering with Zapper to use crypto beyond investment for daily transactions. Other exchanges and supermarkets in South Africa also accept crypto payments, which is part of a larger trend.
Tarris Arnold, Luno's Business Development Manager, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, highlighting it as a step closer to realizing the original vision of cryptocurrencies. He noted, "The ability to pay at such a wide variety of merchants using crypto is a giant step closer to the original vision of using crypto to pay for goods and services."
This integration allows Luno users to perform transactions by scanning Zapper's QR codes at various physical and online outlets. The transaction cap is approximately $5,740 per instance.
The partnership is a technological integration and an expansion of Zapper's payment network, adding approximately five million users from Luno's customer base. Mike Bryer, CEO of Zapper, stated that this initiative is part of Zapper's broader mission to enhance business growth for merchants by diversifying the available payment methods.
This move could potentially increase foot traffic and online sales for involved merchants by tapping into the growing number of crypto users.
The timing of this partnership aligns with other significant developments in the South African crypto landscape. For instance, another local exchange, Valr, has enabled crypto payments on the online platform Geewiz, and major retailers like Pick n Pay have adopted crypto transactions, integrating digital currencies into everyday commerce.
South Africa's regulatory environment has slowed crypto adoption, with the Financial Services Conduct Authority licensing Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs) to provide consumer protection and regulatory compliance. However, industry observers question whether strict normative requirements could hinder innovation and reduce competitive diversity.
Despite these challenges, Luno's and other financial service providers' approval under the new regulatory framework suggests a move towards a more structured and secure cryptocurrency market in South Africa. This development is crucial for building trust among users and merchants, potentially leading to increased adoption rates.
Simultaneously, global payment giants like Visa are also entering the crypto payments space, with plans to launch the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP) on the public Ethereum blockchain by 2025. Such initiatives highlight the growing recognition and integration of digital assets in mainstream financial services, promising a more interconnected and technologically advanced global payments landscape.