India Government Wants Standard QR Code

Quick response barcodes, or QR codes, are making their way to India, with the Indian government reportedly requesting payment providers in the country adopt a standard QR code.

According to a report, the Indian government is asking RuPay, Mastercard and Visa, the three mobile payment providers in India, to adopt a standard QR code so that it can help with ePayments offline. The new standard, in theory, would enable money to move easier between all three systems instead of consumers having to choose to use one.

According to the report, the move on the part of the Indian government is a direct result of its move to take high currency notes out of the system. The government recently banned currency in the 500-rupee and 1,000-rupee denominations. The action has left lots of people in India without the means to pay for goods and services with cash, which is the dominant payment method in the country. Taking those notes out of the financial system represents an effort to stymie fraud efforts, corruption and illegal cash holdings. In place of the 500- and 1,000-rupee notes, a new set of 500-rupee and 2,000-rupee notes are being issued as replacements. Banks have 50 days to comply with the new directive, with individuals able to exchange those notes beginning Nov. 10 and extending through Dec. 30.

QR codes are attractive because they provide digital wallet providers in India a way around the lack of payment terminals in India. The report pointed to the Reserve Bank of India, which said in August that there are less than 1.5 million online point-of-sale terminals issued by Indian banks. Merchants have the option of signing up with digital wallet providers, which give them a QR code. Customers can then scan the code with their mobile wallet to make a payment.