Mastercard has detailed plans to expand its QR-based payment programs, starting this month.
The company will broaden its solutions to offer QR codes that can be scanned by either consumers or merchants under a common set of global specifications.
Mastercard worked with EMVCo and other industry players to create a new global QR standard. These standards aim to ensure consistency in QR codes both generated and captured on a consumer’s mobile phone.
The use of QR codes in certain markets aims to complement the extensive investment in contactless payments to provide merchants of all sizes with a fast, secure and inexpensive way to accept payments.
Launched in 2016, Masterpass QR provides people with any type of mobile phone the ability to safely make in-person purchases without a plastic card. A consumer scans a QR code displayed at the merchant’s checkout on their smartphone or by entering a text code into their feature phone.
The company’s consumer-presented solution will allow the merchant to scan a QR code from a smartphone and process the payment through the Mastercard network. It will leverage M/Chip technology to provide a secure way to pay based on EMV infrastructure.
“Today’s news builds on the momentum of our QR work in India and Africa,” said Ajay Bhalla, president of global enterprise risk and security, Mastercard. “We look forward to the adoption of the EMVCo global QR standards. In the meantime, we’ll continue to work with our customers and partners to make every device a secure way to pay and be paid.”
IDC Financial Insights lists NFC and QR codes as payment technologies that will power m-payments, complementing non-NFC based mobile wallets and other peer-to-peer transfers or direct funds transfers.
The analyst predicts mPayments will accelerate in 2017 exceeding US$1 trillion in 2017. IDC also predicts that APAC will not follow the same growth path for mPayments as that of North America and Europe. Taiwan, Malaysia, China and Thailand will lead the region in terms of mobile payments while the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and India will showcase the best examples in mobile money.