Payments made using a smartphone are referred to as mobile payments. Customers can make such payments in two ways — Near Field Communication (NFC) and QR code payments. This is different from buyers making payments using cash, checks, net banking, or credit/debit cards. You need to remember passwords and PINs or share phone numbers while making mobile payments. This gives greater ease and flexibility to customers and shop owners alike.
Digital payments became an accepted form of payment among store owners and customers due to the pandemic. This is because one could maintain social distancing while paying as one had to scan and pay.
While NFC payments need NFC-POS terminals at stores and high-end smartphones, QR code payments only need a smartphone. Thus, retailers – small or large, do not have to make any additional investment as they can easily update their existing POS to accept mobile payments. Also, a quick software upgrade to the mobile app will enable the existing software to allow scan and pay features by integrating a QR Code Generation API.
Key Features of QR Codes
● Quick Response Code, or QR Code, is a pattern made of black barcodes arranged in a square grid on a white background.
● They have a set of three squares placed in the three corners.
● They are two-dimensional so that you can scan them in any direction.
● They can save up to 4296 alphanumeric characters.
● The overall size of the matrix varies. Small ones store less data than bigger ones.
● They can be static or dynamic codes. Static QR codes are used for quick and simple online payments, whereas dynamic QR codes offer an in-depth analysis leading to a better user experience.
● They are easy to generate.
How do QR codes and QR code payments help?
● They make in-store payments easy. You can use an app that allows scanning the QR code provided by the shop owners and then proceed with the payment.
● Most smartphones today come with inbuilt scanners in the cameras that you can use to scan and pay. This means you don’t need any additional equipment to make QR code payment.
● QR codes can be scanned from a display screen or paper, adding to the convenience of the people.
● They allow making on-the-spot payments, and there is no need to input transaction details.
● They are cost-effective as compared to POS machines which need maintenance, training, and upgrades.
● They are easy to set up as no external infrastructure is needed – no third-party application or physical device.
● Data transferred using QR codes are encrypted, so online payment using QR codes is secure and reliable.
● They can be used by a variety of vendors and at various locations. They are commonly used to make payments at all kinds of stores, fuel stations, restaurants, utility companies, e-counters, ticket bookings, parking, and other individual service providers and freelancers, and even street vendors.
● Online stores can use them if the sellers’ payments gateway supports QR code applications by integrating a suitable QR code generation API.
● Other than marketing, you can actively use them for paying educational fees, security, health care payments, etc.
Many countries around the world are enabling their payment infrastructure to become paperless and become digital economies. So, in this new age, QR code payments are here to stay. With the convenience of scan and pay, one can travel and move around freely without worrying about losing a credit card or cash. In the twenty-first century, it is the modern way to make transactions.
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