QR codes present an interesting opportunity for payment technology. Up until this point, most people and companies have been sparingly using QR codes to host additional information about events or movies. In the Bitcoin world, QR codes have been the norm for payments for quite some time now. The Dutch Payment Association Is looking into developing iDeal payments through QR codes.
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Making QR Code Payments Available To Consumers
Unlike what most companies in the FinTech sector are looking into, the Dutch Payment Association is taking a different approach to creating new ways of paying. No fancy new technology is needed to make payments more convenient, and QR codes present an interesting case for an experiment.
iDeal Is one of the largest payment networks in The Netherlands, as it can be used for online purchases. However, consumers have been looking to use iDeal at brick-and-mortar locations, and the Dutch Payment Association wants to offer that functionality. Merchants will be able to generate QR codes during checkout, which consumers can then scan with a mobile device to complete the payment.
The main goal of this integration is to make iDeal payments more convenient for customers using smartphones. Paying through QR codes seems to the future direction of iDeal as a company, and if all things go according to plan, the integration will be become a reality as early as next year.
Most people will recognize the QR code because of its square shape filled with smaller cubes. Scanning such a QR code can be done through the built-in camera found in most mobile devices these days. Some users may need to install a separate barcode scanner application to get the process started, though.
Embedded within every QR code is a dedicated payment URL for the consumer to visit once they have scanned the code itself. So far, it is unknown as to how many merchants have shown a genuine interest in this iDeal implementation, and when the exact launch will take place. .
Bitcoin Has Been Using QR Codes For Years
The introduction of QR codes in the payment industry is nothing new under the sun, although the trend is only now starting to catch on in Europe. Bitcoin users have been scanning QR codes for years, both for online and in-store purchases. Regardless of whether they are in the world, Bitcoin users can always scan one of these codes to complete a payment.
It will be interesting to see when iDeal plans to launch their QR code integration for mass adoption, and whether or not consumers will take a liking to this approach. That being said it is positive to see the integration of QR codes for mainstream usage. Once consumers get used to this system, they might start to look at alternative payments offering the same functionality, such as Bitcoin.
Source: Tweakers (Dutch)
