QR code payment


QR code payment is a contactless payment method where payment is performed by scanning a QR code from a mobile app. This is an alternative to doing electronic funds transfer at point of sale using a payment terminal. This avoids a lot of the infrastructure traditionally associated with electronic payments such as payment cards, payment networks, payment terminal and merchant accounts.
To use a QR code payment the consumers scans the QR code displayed by the merchant with their phones to pay for their goods. They enter the amount they have to pay and finally submit. This is a more secure card-not-present method than others.

History

The QR code system was invented in 1994 by Masahiro Hara from the Japanese company Denso Wave. In 2011, Chinese company Alipay designed a QR code payment method which allowed offline partnering stores to accept payment by scanning an individual’s QR code in Alipay Wallet. In 2014, another Chinese technology company Tencent also introduced a similar feature on its messaging app WeChat to allow its users to make payments. QR code payment has helped mobile payment become the most popular method of payments in China, accounting for 83% of all payments as of 2018. Nearly all shops, street vendors, most metro systems, buses, and taxis in Mainland China accept either WeChat Pay or Alipay for payment.
The first mobile wallet app for cryptocurrency Bitcoin featured sending and receiving payments with QR codes in 2012.

Usage by industry

Transportation

China

Most metro systems, buses, and taxis in Mainland China accept either WeChat Pay or Alipay for payment. The national railway operator, China Railway, also accepts the two major apps for payment.

India

of the Mumbai Metro in India allows users to purchase a ticket on their phones using QR code payments. Instead of swiping an RFID card or single-use token, a QR code is generated on the Paytm app which is then read by a scanner mounted on the turnstile.