UnionPay Launches QuickPass QR Code System In Hong Kong, Singapore

UnionPay, the mobile payments company, has made its QuickPass QR code payment system available in Hong Kong and Singapore.

According to a report, the first merchants providing the payment method in stores are Colourmix, BreadTalk and Bay Financial Centre. UnionPay said mobile QuickPass QR code payment will be introduced shortly to travel destinations favored by Chinese tourists, including Thailand, Indonesia and Australia.

“We are accelerating the rollout of various mobile QuickPass products and services outside mainland China so that we can bring faster, more convenient and secure payment options for our customers,” said Cai Jianbo, CEO of UnionPay International, according to the report. “We choose to launch UnionPay QR code payment first in daily spend merchants to meet the diverse tourist payment needs resulting from the Chinese tourists’ preference shift from group tours to free and independent traveling.”

UnionPay mobile QuickPass supports NFC contactless payment with UnionPay chip cards, smartphones and wearable devices. Outside China, mobile QuickPass is now accepted at approximately 500,000 point-of-sale terminals across Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Canada, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.

In May, Mastercard, UnionPay International and Visa introduced a standardized QR code for payments, accelerating Thailand’s transition to a cashless society. According to a press release, at the time the companies said consumers holding a Mastercard, UnionPay or Visa card could pay using a mobile application with standardized QR code support to scan the merchant-presented QR code, which works on both smartphones and phones with a camera function. The standard specifications for QR code payments is simple to set up and use, giving consumers and merchants more options for electronic payments without compromising on security or convenience.

“The launch of the standardized QR code signals exciting times for Thailand, as consumers move quickly to adopt new payments technology,” said Donald Ong, country manager for Thailand and Myanmar at Mastercard. “Our own research, for example, shows that 50 percent of young consumers across Southeast Asia would use the QR code straightaway, and we believe this reflects the demand in Thailand. This demand will grow further as the technology is rolled out at small shops across the country and includes bill payments and cash on delivery as well.”