bidorbuy.co.za, a South African online marketplace, today announced the addition of bitcoin as a payment method through its partnership with global bitcoin platform BitX. The alliance will enable bidorbuy sellers to accept seamless, fast and cheap payments from millions of international bitcoin users.



Launched in August 1999, bidorbuy.co.za brings buyers and sellers together to trade almost anything through online auctions and fixed price sales. It is the largest site of its kind operating in South Africa.



“We believe it is important to provide our buyers and sellers with a choice of payment methods”, said Jaco Jonker, bidorbuy’s CEO. “Bitcoins are convenient and easy to use and although relatively new, the virtual currency has a lot of growth potential. Our partnership with BitX is an integral part of our efforts to always offer the latest, innovative solutions to our users.”



In addition to other payment methods enabled by the seller, buyers on bidorbuy will get the option to select the bitcoin payment method during checkout. BitX then provides the buyer with a unique bitcoin wallet address and the real-time exchange rate, which is guaranteed for 10 minutes.



The buyer and seller both receive instant notification of a successful payment and the funds immediately get converted from bitcoin to rands, which the seller then receives in their bidorbuy account.



The products on bidorbuy will still be listed in rands and sellers will receive the appropriate rand amount, regardless of the existing bitcoin exchange rate.



"We’re excited to support bidorbuy’s aim to make their service accessible to more African and international customers and to be on the leading edge of innovation. This integration is also a big milestone in terms of opening up the wider bitcoin ecosystem in Africa, and should have a strong positive effect on the broader industry”, said BitX CEO Marcus Swanepoel.



BitX, founded in early 2013, aims to make money frictionless and universally accessible. It is building an open global financial platform, leveraging the most optimal technologies available, including the blockchain.