NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – Major payments networks, including Visa, Mastercard and China UnionPay, have released global specifications for QR code-based payments through their EMVCo joint venture because they see an opportunity to capture more transactions–and also a risk of losing transactions if they don’t support the technology globally.
QR code payments promoter Muhammad Khan, who had earlier been a backer of contactless and NFC, told NFC Times he believes that the big networks and EMVCo see emerging markets as the first priority for their interoperable QR code specifications. But the networks also will need to back the technology for payments in developed markets.
“QR code is becoming mainstream,” said Khan, who is co-founder and president of U.S.-based start-up Omnyway, previously known as OmnyPay, which uses QR codes to enable white-label apps for merchants and others to do mobile commerce. “The reason is, you can do QR codes not only at the point of sale, you can do online transactions; you can do it anywhere in the store. So Mastercard, Visa, all these guys, they realize, if they want to expand usage of their payment transactions, they must use the QR code, including into India, China, Africa.”
