In this article we will cover the available methods of receiving your solar income and explain how payments are made.
When you place an order for solar cells you will need to select your earning currency. That is, the currency that you would like to be paid your monthly lease income in.
There are two possible options: South African Rands (ZAR) or Bitcoin (BTC).
You should only select ZAR if you have a South African bank account. We are unable to send ZAR payments internationally and once earned we cannot convert a ZAR balance to BTC. You can however spend a ZAR balance on more solar cells, so if your intention is to only compound your earnings then ZAR can work even if you don't have a South African bank account. Just bear in mind that you won't be able to withdraw your earnings unless you change your earning currency to BTC, which can be done via your dashboard. This setting will change the currency for future payments, but won't convert funds already earned.
The other earning currency option is BTC. This option is for anyone, anywhere in the world. Simply provide us with your BTC wallet address and you will be able to withdraw your earnings whenever you choose.
When will I get paid?
Once a solar plant is operating, Sun Exchange invoices the energy user concerned. On a weekly basis as funds are received from the energy users, Sun Exchange distributes the rental received (less service fees) to the members who own the projects, according to the number of cells each member owns.
Sun Exchange distributes solar cell rental income weekly, after we receive payment from the energy user. Should an energy user fall behind on their payments, rental will be accrued until the energy user restores their account with us, thereafter the accrued rental will be paid out to cell owners.
The base currency of our model is ZAR and so our energy users all pay for their power in ZAR (with the exception of Nhimbe Fresh who pay in USD). If you opt to earn in BTC then, after deductions for service fees and insurance, we convert your share of the ZAR income to BTC at the spot ZAR/BTC price on the day of rental distribution. This means that the actual amount of BTC you are paid will vary according to the ZAR/BTC price at that time.
If you have any questions or you would like to get clarity on any of the above, please reach out to us!