Now, pay for your purchases at merchant outlets by simply scanning BHARAT QR using your Bank’s application. BHARAT QR enables seamless transactions across banks for all cardholders and UPI users.
The growing usage of smartphones and internet has led to the payments industry in India undergoing and experiencing a sharp surge in QR Code-based payment solutions. Banks have started providing their own variants of mobile banking app/wallets that users can download and use through their smartphones to make as well as receive payments.
This QR Code-based interface has initiated a new way for merchants and customers to exchange funds using mobile phones, making it a preferred channel to expedite and grow electronic payments. Merchants have used it to accept digital payments, as not all have the resources to mandate payments through POS card swipe EDC terminals
In an attempt to encourage more and more people to use less cash and make digital payments instead, the RBI authorized a few card payment networks to implement an interoperable solution for such QR Code operated mechanisms. A common interoperable QR based payment solution represents a channel of initiating and accepting payments between buyers and sellers (or consumers and merchants) using the mobile phone. This is one technology that may hold the key to expanding electronic payment in millions of small retail merchants.
As a result, NPCI jointly worked with the ICS (International Card Schemes) to develop a common standard for QR code and partnered to launch Bharat QR – a QR Code-based digital payment mechanism that merchant establishments, eCommerce and mCommerce websites are already using.