Apple and Google revolutionized mobile payments. Consumers who load their credit and debit cards...
With the launch of FedNow, the focus will shift towards adoption of instant payments through both FedNow and RTP. These rails that facilitate money movement instantly from one bank account to another, however, are only available to financial institutions; consumers and businesses can't directly access either one.
For consumers to pay businesses using FedNow or RTP, they need a secure way of sharing their bank account information and dynamic details about the transaction. For example:
- A consumer who wants to pay their utility bill with instant payments has to share their bank account and routing number to the utility. Specific transaction details also need to be shared like the date of payment and customer information. If the consumer tries to pay the bill late, a late fee has to be dynamically applied and communicated to the consumer.
- A consumer who wants to pay for lunch at a local restaurant using instant payments has to share their bank account and routing number to the restaurant. Details about the transaction are also needed such as the items purchased, the store number and checkout counter among other things.
QR Codes enable this secure exchange of financial information
QR Codes designed for payments can securely transmit encrypted sensitive financial data and transaction information. They can automatically calculate discounts and fees in real-time, and insure that a QR Code hasn’t been spoofed, tampered with or already been paid.
Expiration dates and times can be set on QR Codes so they aren't "active" indefinitely. This is key for e-commerce. If a QR Code isn't scanned and paid within a certain period of time (e.g. 30 minutes) at an online checkout, the product in the cart is made available for someone else to buy.
Once generated, QR Codes can be printed on statements, presented at POS in-store or displayed at an online checkout page to be scanned and paid.
User experience is 100% digital
QR Codes for consumer to business payments can be presented at POS, on a bill or online and are scanned and paid from within a consumer’s mobile app.
Consumers primed to use QR Codes for payments
In recent years, QR Codes have made their way into the social fabric of the U.S. Common consumer applications include airline boarding passes, event admissions, product information and beyond. There’s no need to “train” consumers how to use a QR Code.
QR Codes commonly used for payments in other countries
In Brazil, there are over 3 Billion Pix instant payments per month. 20% are initiated by QR Codes. Here are just a few example consumer brands Americans are familiar with that offer QR Code payments in Brazil.
Rail-agnostic
While QR Codes can drive instant payment adoption, they aren’t tied to a particular payment type. The information represented by a QR Code can facilitate any type of payment method including ACH, instant payments, card, points, crypto etc.
With that said, QR Codes are an ideal form factor to accelerate adoption of instant payments as they offer consumers and businesses a secure way to exchange financial account information and other transaction details.
The big picture
With their broad utility, and unparalleled user experience, it's clear that QR Codes are set to redefine our financial transactions. Embrace the QR Code revolution – it’s not just the future, it’s the present.
For more information, please visit www.matera.com. Checkout our QR code white paper.
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.
