It’s slightly over a decade since the concept of cryptocurrencies began to make waves globally. Statistics have shown that Nigerians are the highest digital asset users in Africa. As this teeming populous nation tries to get familiar with this concept, the major question remains how to spend cryptocurrencies in Nigeria, considering the latest restrictions imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
In the U.S and some European countries, cryptocurrencies can be spent in a variety of places, both online and offline. The case is slightly different in Nigeria. Spending options are mainly online.
Well, as we await the birth of offline stores where digital assets can be spent directly, below is a highlight of how to spend cryptocurrencies in Nigeria.
Electricity Bills
Paying for electricity bills, both prepaid and postpaid, is a good way to spend cryptocurrencies in Nigeria. Popular Nigerian cryptocurrency gateway, Paychant, has a platform where cryptos like Bitcoin, Ethereum Cello Dollar, and Tether can be used to pay for AEDC, EKEDC, and IBEDC bills. Prepaid electricity tokens can also be bought.
The Paychant quick platform does not require users to create accounts. Provided you have a cryptocurrency wallet, you can pay electricity bills seamlessly.
Tipping, Charity, and Donation
A most rewarding and easy way of spending cryptocurrencies is by spending it forward. A number of freelance writers and web developers in Nigeria and other African countries now accept cryptos as payment for services rendered. All they need to do is send a link to the client through which payment can be made.
Fundraising is becoming quite popular in Nigeria. Donations are made for particular causes like health funding, education projects, not-for-profit, and other worthy uses. Cryptocurrency payment gateways have API and payment buttons through which charitable donations can be made.
Recharge cards and Internet Data
Buying recharge cards and internet data is another way to spend cryptocurrencies in Nigeria. All that a customer needs to have is a cryptocurrency wallet. By visiting the website, and following instructions, recharge cards and data for popular networks like MTN, Airtel, Etisalat, and Glo can be bought.
How to make payments with Cryptocurrencies
Making crypto payments can be likened to sending an email but in this case, you’re sending money to an address.
An advantage of making cryptocurrency payments is that you don’t need to divulge so much personal information. If you are buying electricity tokens, recharge cards, or internet data, only your email address may be needed. In the case of charitable donations, anonymous payments could be made.
After providing the required information, rather than requesting credit card details, the website will display the cryptocurrency payment information which will consist of either:
- a quick response (QR) Code
- Bitcoin address.
There, however, may be slight differences depending on the crypto-wallet being used.
Making payment via QR code
Many cryptocurrency payment processors provide a QR code representing a crypto address and payment amount during checkout.
QR codes facilitate easy payments from a bitcoin wallet app on smartphones. Scanning the QR code will pre-fill the recipient’s bitcoin address and the required payment amount. The transaction is completed after review.
Paying to a Bitcoin address
In addition to a QR code, merchants also offer manual payments with a cryptocurrency address. All you need to do is copy the merchant’s address, and manually input this into your cryptocurrency wallet as the recipient address for a transaction.
When making payment to a crypto address, you’ll need to enter the recipient’s bitcoin address and the amount of coin to send. These pieces of information are usually displayed on the payment page. In the case of donations to charity, the amount could be at the discretion of the payer.
After entering the correct information in your wallet, you review and submit the transactions. This followed by a successful payment notification.
There you have it, a brief on how to spend cryptocurrencies in Nigeria.
Source: The Street Journal
