Businesses That Accept Bitcoin in South Africa

Although Bitcoin is mostly seen as an investment, it can also be used as a medium of exchange to pay for goods and services. More and more businesses have started accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment as the price and adoption of the cryptocurrency have slowly begun to increase.

Here in South Africa, you can pay many businesses in Bitcoin. But why? Why have those businesses started to adapt their transactions with Bitcoin?

Why should businesses accept Bitcoin?

There are many reasons as to why businesses choose to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. A few of these include:

• Greater security (transactions are irreversible once they get confirmed, therefore the risk of a chargeback is significantly reduced when compared to a card or bank payment).
• Lower transaction fees (although not always the case, Bitcoin transaction fees tend to be much lower than traditional banking fees).
• International payments (making international payments with Bitcoin is much easier, cheaper and more secure than any traditional payment method).
• Brand reputation (By being one of the first businesses to accept Bitcoin in South Africa and around the world you can create a good and unique image for your business).
• Bitcoin supporters (tons of people in the Bitcoin community are likely to notice your business and even support your business if you accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. You also get to say that your business accepted Bitcoin in its early days).

How long do Bitcoin transactions take?

Due to the decentralized nature of the blockchain technology in Bitcoin, transaction times can vary. Transactions can be confirmed within minutes, but they can also take a few hours. Bitcoin transactions confirmations take about 10 minutes on average. After about 6 confirmations a transaction is considered final, however, 1 confirmation will be sufficient for smaller transactions. This means that it’ll take about +-1 hour if you want to wait for 6 confirmations (6 confirmations x 10 minutes per block = 60 minutes/1 hour).

There are currently layer 2 solutions that are being developed which will allow Bitcoin transactions to be much cheaper and settled instantly. An example of a layer 2 solution is the lightning network. The lightning network allows for microtransaction to be sent and received for a near 0 fee, and practically instant. It is likely that we will see more businesses accept layer 2 payments as they are much quicker than layer 1/on chain payments.

Some businesses that accept Bitcoin transactions in South Africa

We’re always on the lookout for businesses in South Africa that accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. Here is a small list of businesses that accept Bitcoin in South Africa:

• RunwaySale
  South Africa’s largest online fashion sales store offering members exclusive 70% discounts on major fashion labels.
• Earthchild
  A homegrown South African fashion retailer specializing in organic cotton casual wear.
• Cape Coffee Beans
  South Africa’s most popular online coffee bean distributor.
• weFix
  South African repairers of all kinds of consumer smart devices, including popular Apple products.
• Takealot.com
  South Africa’s largest homegrown e-commerce store.

This is just a small selection of South African businesses that accept Bitcoin, there is likely many more out there.

Where to buy Bitcoin in South Africa?

To buy Bitcoin easily in South Africa you’ll need to do it through a local exchange or broker. Exchanges tend to be quite confusing and intimidating to users who are not familiar with them. For this reason, we’d recommend using a broker such as Easy Crypto.

Easy Crypto is the best option to go with because:

• We have some of the most competitive prices in South Africa.
• We are able to deliver Bitcoin to your personal wallet within minutes of you paying for your order.
• You are in control of your funds at all times when using Easy Crypto.
• We offer over 100+ other cryptocurrencies on our website.

Easy Crypto’s goal is to make Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies easily accessible to everyone in South Africa, not just those with technical and computer skills.

Feel free to reach out to us at any time if you need help with signing up or completing your order, we’re always more than happy to help!