Africa has woken up to the potential of cryptocurrencies, and across the continent, adoption is rapidly rising. However, while ownership has taken off, Bitcoin payments have not been as robust. This is changing, with more merchants accepting Bitcoin payments. In South Africa, DeathByCoffee has shone brightly as an icon for Bitcoin SV, accepting BSV payments for its outstanding coffee and finger-licking pastries.
DeathByCoffee is a family-run coffee roastery in Port Elizabeth, a city in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. While the coffee roasting dates back four years, the coffee bar became open to the public mid last year. Since then, it has grown rapidly, led by Justin and Rushka Johnson, known as Daddy and Mamma Coffee respectively. For them, the coffee bar is more than just a job. In an interview with CoinGeek, Mamma Coffee told me:
Can you really call it a job when it entails, being together as a family, meeting awesome people while drinking the best coffee, creating and building new things and eating the best pastries ever?
DeathByCoffee has been accepting BSV payments for some time now and the experience has been amazing. “BSV payments are quick, convenient, cheap and simple to use. It’s fun and easy showing our clients how to use it,” she stated.
Rich, dark, intense coffee & something sweet.
Come snuggle up with us today.
We have just packed a shelf full of freshly roasted coffee just for you.
7 high str Mount Pleasant PE
We accept #bitcoinsv #BSV #ilovecoffee #coffee #roastery #coffeepe #deathbycoffeeroastery pic.twitter.com/F1tBEqTvJ7
— DeathbyCoffeeRoastery (@DeathbyCoffeeSA) January 22, 2020
In South Africa, access to BSV has been quite easy and convenient thanks to the outstanding work done by BSV wallet Centbee. Users can purchase BSV from retail stores across the country. This makes it easy for Mamma Coffee to explain the BSV payment process to her clients. The coffee bar has even integrated Bitcoin SV payments into their loyalty program, where for every nine cups purchased, you get the tenth for free. Once a customer makes a payment using the Centbee wallet, they get a percentage back to their wallet.
DeathByCoffee attributes its BSV acceptance wholly to Centbee. Lorien Gamaroff, the CEO and co-founder of the wallet, has been extensively involved in the initiative in the true BSV spirit of spreading the Bitcoin word.
“Using something created by a person that you trust absolutely makes everything smoother and easier,” Mamma Coffee tells me.
For the coffee bar, the adoption goes beyond the customers. It pays some of its suppliers using BSV, a process she describes as cheap, quick and very convenient. She can’t wait for all the suppliers to begin accepting BSV, she says.
By accepting BSV, isn’t she worried about the ambiguous nature of regulations for the crypto industry, I ask her.
No concerns. One of the other reasons that we like BSV is that its above board, and it’s not anonymous. So we aren’t hiding from the law or using anything illegal but rather forward thinking technology that is going to benefit businesses and people while remaining legit.
On the larger South African crypto market, Mamma Coffee tells me that it has gone through a rough patch with scams, but it’s bouncing back. After the initial hype, plenty of scammers flooded the market, leading many to become wary of cryptos.
“Some were disheartened by the Bitcoin Core ‘get rich quick schemes’ though, and the struggle to find a tangible use for Bitcoin Core, the high fees in BTC and the difficulties and complexities in working with it. Also, all of the forks caused much confusion for those not following and understanding what was happening, so I think it will take time for them to regain trust in crypto because of that,” she said.
Despite this, the enthusiasm is back, thanks in large to Bitcoin SV. At last, South African entrepreneurs can use Bitcoin in their businesses. The low fees are especially important, Mamma Coffee tells me. South Africa has a huge portion of people who are struggling with tough economic times and as such, they can’t afford to lose the high fees with every transaction.
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