Five Reasons to Say Yes to QR Code Payments          For Financial Institutions, Merchants and Billers

Apple and Google revolutionized mobile payments. Consumers who load their credit and debit cards into their Apple or Google Wallet can leave their physical wallet behind when they go shopping and still have the ability to buy something just by tapping their mobile phone at checkout for the majority of U.S. retailers who accept NFC-based mobile payments (85% for Apple and 65% for Google).

So, why should financial institutions, billers and merchants care about enabling these same consumers to pay by scanning a QR Code with their mobile phone?

QR Code mobile payments make sense for a lot of reasons:

• Drives mobile app engagement: QR Codes for payments must be scanned from “within an authenticated environment” meaning the consumer has to be logged in to a financial institution’s or merchant’s mobile app for them to work. Encouraging consumers to pay by QR Code is yet another reason why they will visit the mobile app that enables them to do that.
• Lowers the cost of payments: QR Codes are the key to unlocking instant payments. Financial institutions, merchants and billers who offer payment by QR Code can facilitate lower-cost payment rails such as instant payment or even ACH instead of cards and checks.
• More control of the payment experience: There are countless ways for consumers to pay for things - credit card, debit card, Venmo, PayPal, CashApp, Check, Cash etc.  The process to use those payment methods varies widely. Merchants who offer QR Code payments know that those transactions are simple, fast and 100% digital for consumers. There's no need to train employees and consumers on how to use them, or for either to exchange information during checkout.
• Caters to younger consumers: Millennials and Gen Z are a mobile-first generations. According to the Federal Reserve, consumers 18 - 34 are much more likely to use their bank’s mobile app than those 55+ to do things like check an account balance, pay a bill or move money between accounts.  Financial institutions, merchants and billers who enable their customers to scan QR codes with their mobile phone to make payments will attract these younger consumers. 
• Easy reconciliation & analysis: QR Codes can include much more data than just payment information. This "extra" data about a payment, or circumstances surrounding a payment (e.g. checkout line, customer risk score, store number), isn't included in the actual QR Code alphanumeric string. Rather, this information is stored in a QR Code database along with the payment information. 
  
  For example, if a utility company offering QR Code payments wants to track which consumers being billed have a Smart Reader or own an Electric Vehicle, this data associated with each consumer is stored in the QR Code Database. When the consumer pays by QR Code, not only does the utility receive the payment details (e.g. when it was paid, how much they paid), but whether the consumer who paid by QR Code also has a Smart Reader or Electric Vehicle. 

Zoom out

QR codes facilitate millions of payments every month in many countries outside the U.S. such as China, India and Brazil. They enable financial institutions, billers and merchants to offer a convenient, secure and seamless way for consumers to make payments.

In the U.S., as Millennials and Gen Z shoppers make up a greater portion of consumer spending, it only makes sense to provide QR codes as a way for them (and others) to make 100% digital payments using their mobile phone.

For more information, please visit www.matera.com.

By Sarah Hoisington (Sarah.Hoisington@Matera.com)

Sarah Hoisington is VP of Strategy & Marketing of Matera, U.S. Founded over 30 years ago in Brazil, Matera is a technology company that provides instant payments, QR code payments and digital ledger technology to financial institutions. Matera’s solutions are used by 2 out of the top 3 global banks, 3 of the top 10 U.S. banks and 1/3rd of all banks in Brazil. Over 300 million Pix instant payments are processed per month using Matera’s solution and 60 million of those are initiated by QR Codes. Sarah has specialized in payments and fraud for over 20 years and is currently focused on Matera’s global expansion to the U.S.