Cryptocurrency exchanges Luno and VALR have recently expanded the platforms their payment systems support, increasing the number of South African merchants where users can pay with digital assets.
Luno said its customers can now transact using crypto at 31,000 merchants nationwide thanks to a partnership with Zapper.
Thanks to its integration with Zapper, Luno said its customer base can make payments to vendors such as FlySafair, fuel stations, and educational institutions.
This will certainly make it a lot easier for those with Bitcoin to use it for daily transactions in South Africa. I’ve bought groceries with mine at Pick ‘n Pay last year, but it required a special wallet to be used. This looks a lot more versatile and mainstream.
But I’ve ditched most of my cryptocurrency as I have no clue how it gets managed when it comes to declaring capital gains to SARS. With my other investments it is fairly easy as the institution sends the reports at the end of the year. But how does one fathom this out from Bitcoin in, Bitcoin transferred, Bitcoin used, etc on a going basis? Bitcoin values vary daily, and this is not such an issue with static cash/credit.
So I’m rather waiting to see how it all pans out from a tax perspective.
See https://mybroadband.co.za/news/cryptocurrency/563843-crypto-payments-explosion-in-south-africa.html