Shopping payment via QR Codes will be the way to go
- Replies 4
Supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles have joined forces with Commonwealth Bank to roll out QR codes for easy payment for groceries and other retail products.
The new method will become available just in time for the holiday rush, and it will allow you to simply scan a code to complete payment, whether at the checkout, online or via mobile.
QR payment works by scanning a unique code on your mobile phone. Photo from nestegg.
QR codes may be the most significant change in the way shoppers pay for things since “tap and go” was introduced in 2007, said EFTPOS chief product officer Matt Barr. This allows shoppers to split payments between gift cards, debit cards, and credit cards, minus the hassle of entering three sets of data.
“We’re making paying more convenient and enjoyable,” he said.
Retail expert and University of Tasmania senior lecturer Louise Grimmer said QR technology is a win-win situation for shoppers and retailers.
“Before the pandemic, QR codes really did not take off in Australia, but now we are all scanning QR codes several times per day,” she said.
The technology had previously failed to cut through, but pandemic check-ins allowed QR codes to enter our daily lives.
“There is no reason that this behaviour can’t extend to paying for goods and services.”
But how will QR payments actually work?
EFTPOS has partnered with mobile wallet providers, such as Beem It and Azupay, who will enable the payment method in their existing debit and credit card mobile apps.
On the other side, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank will allow businesses to start accepting QR payments in stores.
The process goes like this: You choose to pay with QR and scan an image on a terminal, which will then apply any loyalty program you have loaded into your digital wallet. Afterwards, you will be issued a digital receipt.
Both Woolworths and Coles have signed up. So, these two will be the first supermarkets where Australians can use QR codes to pay.
In a statement on Wednesday, Woolworths’ WPay managing director Paul Monnington said that they are “looking forward to building the next generation of seamless payment experience with EFTPOS”.
What happens then to ‘tap and go’?
Even though the QR code technology gained popularity across Asia and has been the norm in China for more than a decade now, Australians still prefer the ‘tap and go’ method with their physical debit and credit cards.
Data collected by Reserve Bank has found that about four in five in-store card payments are tap and go. Australians rarely swipe or insert their cards these days.
QR codes may potentially dethrone tap and go as the preferred method of contactless payments in stores, especially now that COVID is still in sight.
Mr Barr said that it could eventually be utilised as an all-in-one solution to COVID-safe requirements and payment.
“It’s a way to bring all those parts of the shopping experience together in a way that tap and go can’t,” the product officer said.
“Tap and go is a great payment experience, but it’s not a good shopping experience.”
What do you think? Do you still use cash or credit cards to pay for your groceries, or have you migrated to tap and go? Would you give payments via QR code a shot?
The new method will become available just in time for the holiday rush, and it will allow you to simply scan a code to complete payment, whether at the checkout, online or via mobile.
QR payment works by scanning a unique code on your mobile phone. Photo from nestegg.
QR codes may be the most significant change in the way shoppers pay for things since “tap and go” was introduced in 2007, said EFTPOS chief product officer Matt Barr. This allows shoppers to split payments between gift cards, debit cards, and credit cards, minus the hassle of entering three sets of data.
“We’re making paying more convenient and enjoyable,” he said.
Retail expert and University of Tasmania senior lecturer Louise Grimmer said QR technology is a win-win situation for shoppers and retailers.
“Before the pandemic, QR codes really did not take off in Australia, but now we are all scanning QR codes several times per day,” she said.
The technology had previously failed to cut through, but pandemic check-ins allowed QR codes to enter our daily lives.
“There is no reason that this behaviour can’t extend to paying for goods and services.”
But how will QR payments actually work?
EFTPOS has partnered with mobile wallet providers, such as Beem It and Azupay, who will enable the payment method in their existing debit and credit card mobile apps.
On the other side, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank will allow businesses to start accepting QR payments in stores.
The process goes like this: You choose to pay with QR and scan an image on a terminal, which will then apply any loyalty program you have loaded into your digital wallet. Afterwards, you will be issued a digital receipt.
Both Woolworths and Coles have signed up. So, these two will be the first supermarkets where Australians can use QR codes to pay.
In a statement on Wednesday, Woolworths’ WPay managing director Paul Monnington said that they are “looking forward to building the next generation of seamless payment experience with EFTPOS”.
What happens then to ‘tap and go’?
Even though the QR code technology gained popularity across Asia and has been the norm in China for more than a decade now, Australians still prefer the ‘tap and go’ method with their physical debit and credit cards.
Data collected by Reserve Bank has found that about four in five in-store card payments are tap and go. Australians rarely swipe or insert their cards these days.
QR codes may potentially dethrone tap and go as the preferred method of contactless payments in stores, especially now that COVID is still in sight.
Mr Barr said that it could eventually be utilised as an all-in-one solution to COVID-safe requirements and payment.
“It’s a way to bring all those parts of the shopping experience together in a way that tap and go can’t,” the product officer said.
“Tap and go is a great payment experience, but it’s not a good shopping experience.”
What do you think? Do you still use cash or credit cards to pay for your groceries, or have you migrated to tap and go? Would you give payments via QR code a shot?
.png){kind=icon}
