MoneyBadger, a crypto payments startup founded by Luno’s Carel van Wyk and Carl Kritzinger, has secured $400,000 (around R7 million) in pre-seed funding to grow its Bitcoin payments infrastructure across South Africa’s retail landscape.
Unlike many crypto ventures focused solely online, MoneyBadger is tackling brick-and-mortar retail. Its infrastructure already powers Bitcoin payments at over 1,600 retail locations, including supermarkets, fashion outlets, and fuel stations.
This funding is its first external raise since launching quietly in 2022. The round was led by P1 Ventures, with additional support from crypto-native angel investors. Interestingly, a portion of the investment came in Bitcoin itself.
“We don’t see that growth slowing,” Van Wyk stated plainly, referencing Bitcoin’s 3x price increase over the past few years. “That makes Bitcoin adoption attractive for retailers.”
The startup’s breakthrough came after a request from Pick n Pay, one of South Africa’s largest grocery chains, seeking a way to integrate Bitcoin payments into its stores. This request led to MoneyBadger’s formation and a prototype powered by the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
“Thanks to advances in Bitcoin payments technology, especially the Lightning Network, we delivered a working prototype that was faster and cheaper than tap-to-pay with credit cards,” Van Wyk noted.
Pick n Pay piloted the system in 39 stores back in late 2022 before rolling it out to all its 1,600+ outlets by mid-2023. Today, shoppers can buy groceries, airtime, electricity, municipal bills, and even travel tickets using Bitcoin, with transactions capped at R10,000 per purchase.
Pick n Pay’s head of financial services, Deven Moodley, confirmed that crypto payments now account for over R1 million ($59,000) in monthly sales. “Crypto payments fit into our Ways2Pay strategy of giving more customers mechanisms to pay in our stores,” Moodley said.
MoneyBadger claims to process more than R1.4 million ($83,000) in monthly Bitcoin transactions across its network, with Pick n Pay remaining its largest partner. Its CryptoQR system, a proprietary QR scanning platform, is now integrated into several major digital wallets, including Luno, VALR, Blink, and Aqua. This allows customers to pay via QR codes or directly through POS terminals.
Beyond consumer convenience, MoneyBadger’s regulatory awareness gives it an edge. The startup’s leadership includes veterans from SnapScan, FireWorks, and the Crypto Asset Association of South Africa, helping it navigate the country’s newly formalised crypto licensing regime under the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).
South Africa’s crypto environment has changed direction rapidly. The FSCA began licensing crypto providers in 2023, positioning the sector for regulated growth. Analysts expect the nation’s crypto market to hit $615.5 million in revenue by 2025, reaching over 7 million users.
Interestingly, while Bitcoin dominates retail payments, stablecoins now account for higher transaction volumes on local exchanges, a signal that customers value practical crypto use cases over speculative trading.
MoneyBadger’s latest strategic move was partnering with Ecentric, a payments firm that manages transactions for two-thirds of South Africa’s listed retailers. This partnership is expected to rapidly scale Bitcoin acceptance within mainstream retail.
But competition is increasing. Rival Luno Pay, spun out from crypto exchange Luno in November 2024, has handled over R20 million ($1.1 million) in Bitcoin purchases since launch, with monthly volumes near R2 million ($112,000). Unlike MoneyBadger’s focus on in-store payments, Luno Pay is carving dominance in online and mobile transactions.
“While the West debates regulation, Africa is where the future of crypto utility is being written,” said P1 Ventures’ Managing Partner, Hisham Halbouny, stressing investor confidence in MoneyBadger’s mission.
The company plans to deploy its new capital into expanding partnerships with national QR code networks, Tier 1 payment processors, and e-commerce platforms.
With the pace of Bitcoin adoption growing faster than many expected, MoneyBadger is positioning itself not as a crypto novelty, but as a core player in everyday retail payments.
