Table Of Content
What to Know:
- MoneyBadger’s report reveals South Africa’s crypto payments grew 176% in rand value during H1 2026.
- Bitcoin’s share of that spending fell from 94% in 2023 to just 40% in 2026.
- Rand-backed stablecoins, led by ZARU, jumped from 2% to 44% of crypto payment value in three years.
- Half of all crypto payments are under R200, spread across the month rather than clustered on payday.
- Cashback promotions boosted spending up to 35 times normal levels. After promotions ended, spend settled at 7–9 times the baseline
- Most crypto payments still run through custodial wallets rather than self-custody.
MoneyBadger, the payments network behind Bitcoin acceptance at Pick n Pay, says crypto payment value across its network grew 176% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. The numbers were included in their August 2026 report titled “How South Africans Use Bitcoin and Crypto as Money.”
The report indicates that in addition to this surge, there was a 95% rise in overall transaction volume. Meanwhile, the number of active paying merchants surged 51-fold to 2,927 as major payment service providers integrated the rail.
These numbers indicate growth in the retail adoption of cryptocurrency across South Africa. More interestingly, however, is what the report says South Africans are paying with.
From Bitcoin at the Till to Rand On-Chain
When MoneyBadger launched in 2023, Bitcoin made up 94% of the value moving through its network. By 2026 year-to-date, that share had fallen to 40%. In its place, the use of stablecoins, largely USDT and the rand-backed ZARU, grew from 2% to 44%.
ZARU only launched in February 2026. It is backed by a consortium including Luno, Sanlam, and EasyEquities, with Standard Bank acting as banker. Within six months, ZARU accounted for 98% of all rand-stablecoin value on the network. Between June and July 2026 alone, ZARU transaction value grew 61%.
That shift changes what “crypto adoption” actually means here. A South African paying for everyday goods and services with ZARU isn’t taking on Bitcoin’s price swings or speculating on an asset. What they’re doing instead is moving ZARU, which is engineered to always equal 1 rand, over faster, cheaper rails than card networks.
The Bitcoin-at-the-till story that made headlines in 2023 has changed. The story is now about stablecoins, the digitisation of the rand, and USDT’s dominance on the continent.
What the Small-Basket, Mid-Month Pattern Really Suggests
The way South Africans are spending crypto has also changed, showing how these new rails work in everyday commerce.
MoneyBadger’s data indicates that half of all payments are under R200. 87% are under R1,000. These numbers indicate South Africans are more likely to use these rails for things like food or clothing than for investment decisions.
The report also shows that payments are spread fairly evenly throughout the month, with a mild peak between the 11th and 13th. This is different from the usual spike at the end of the month, which is when salaried spending typically surges.
The report also noted that Pick n Pay’s Langeberg Mall store in Mossel Bay ranks among the network’s busiest thanks to a nearby township Bitcoin circular economy, Bitcoin Ekasi.
All of these numbers together could be interpreted as crypto payment rails gaining traction where formal banking access is thinnest, not primarily among speculative investors in wealthier urban nodes.
The Adoption Numbers Come With an Asterisk
MoneyBadger also reports that 34% to 44% of users of a major custodial wallet return the following quarter. The report positions this number as evidence that crypto payments are becoming a genuine habit. While this is not completely false, one must consider other influences on payment behaviour.
The report indicates that during cashback promotion months, one exchange wallet’s spend spiked to 35 times its early-2025 baseline. When those promotions ended, spending didn’t return to normal; it settled at 7 to 9 times baseline. Those are not negligible numbers, but it could mean that a large share of current spending was driven by reward incentives rather than pure organic demand.
Luno Pay also introduced new cashback incentives in mid-2026, paying up to 15% back on ZARU payments. In the same period, ZARU spending grew by 61%. This suggests even MoneyBadger’s own partners are still leaning on incentives to keep usage climbing.
MoneyBadger describes self-custody wallets as “the purest form of financial inclusion.” Yet its data show that custodial wallets, run by centralised exchanges like Luno, VALR, and Binance, have consistently handled roughly two-thirds to three-quarters of the value of payments since the network’s first year.
The self-custody ideal and the actual customer behaviour are pulling in different directions. South African users, it seems, still prioritise transaction speeds and lower costs over the allure of decentralised freedom.
Why This Matters
None of this erases the growth in retail crypto adoption. It does change what banks, regulators, and competing payment providers should be watching.
South Africa’s crypto story might have started with Bitcoin, but it’s no longer there. The competitive threat is a rand-denominated stablecoin that offers the familiarity of local currency, settles in seconds, and incurs a fraction of the cost. More importantly, this token could now be increasingly reaching users that traditional banking rails may be underserving.
Whether that growth holds once cashback incentives fade further is the question this report raises but doesn’t yet answer.
