These days, we can all agree that there are many ways to pay for a service or a purchase in a shop, or at the delivery person who delivers your order, using cash or credit card. We can replace the credit card with a smartphone, where we do not present the credit card but the phone to the POS terminal of the vendor, but there are also credit transfers, cheque cashing machines, alternative payment apps and many more!
We can also pay our utility bills by bank transfer or by scanning the QR code on the bill or the cheque we receive using our smartphone.
At the checkout in some shops, you can also find a solution where the cash register not only displays the amount to be paid, but also a unique QR code generated from the payment transaction, which you can read with your smartphone camera to pay the total amount of your purchase electronically.
Users are unanimous in saying that the QR code is convenient to use, as you just scan it with a bank or other payment app (such as iChecks): no typing, no typos, the data is filled in automatically. The details are quickly reviewed, approved and the transaction is ready to go!
Time is not an insignificant factor: in Hungary, with the Instant Payment System for QR code payments, our unique domestic HUF transfers are delivered within 5 seconds!
But what do we need to know about QR codes, where they come from and why they are called QR codes? The name QR code comes from the abbreviation for Quick Response, developed in Japan in 1994 and becoming more widely used. There are several types, depending on the size, which can carry more or less information: for payment processing, the code on the invoice can contain the bank account number of the amount to be transferred, the name of the recipient and information in the comment box.
Generating a standard code is not difficult either, as there are several free applications available if you want to generate such a code.
As the operating and investment costs associated with QR code payments are typically lower than those of credit card payments, but as secure as a payment solution, we can expect a steadily growing and increasingly widespread take-up. According to a recent European survey, 86.6% of people with a smartphone have used a QR code, and 4% of all consumer transactions are made this way!
Not only is it a payment solution, but its potential uses are almost endless: placed on establishments, websites, it can carry a wealth of information conveniently, instantly displaying the related website, ticket image, map.
The Aztec code, a slightly modified version of the classic QR code, is used, for example, by the Transport Mobile Ticket service developed by National Mobile Payment Plc. to identify vehicles and metro stops in Budapest and to validate tickets. During the journey, when the ticket inspector is checking the ticket or pass, he can use the aztec code on the ticket or pass to check the legality of the journey in a matter of seconds using a smart device. The service was launched three years ago, and today more than 6 million users have encountered these codes through the National Mobile Payment System alone! Passengers have quickly become accustomed to using the codes, which are simple, quick, secure, do not require any physical or other means of transport, and only require the installation of the appropriate application.
In addition to the convenience of use, QR codes can also serve marketing purposes: we can navigate the user, customer or prospective customer to any website where we can provide them with useful, informative or attention-grabbing information, or even collect loyalty points with a simple scan!
Sources:
https://mobilfizeto.hu/qr-kod/
https://4spend.com/szolgaltatas/azonnali-fizetes-qr-kod/
http://diakro.hu/azonnali-fizetes-qr-koddal-784/
https://ecommerce.hu/azonnali-fizetes-kisokos/
https://scanova.io/blog/qr-code-statistics/