Mobile Payments

QR Code burger in London lets you pay by scanning its bun

09/10/201809/09/2018 L. Green

Each wagyu beef burger has a QR code printed on its bun. Head to ICHIBUNS restaurant in Soho’s Chinatown, and you can order a QR Code burger. Each wagyu beef burger served at the Japanese burgers udon restaurant in London, is served to customers with a quick response bar code toasted into the top of the bun. Scan the burger bun to pay for your order. The QR code burger has been designed for mobile payment convenience and is the result of a partnership between ICHIBUNS and Zapper, a mobile…

QR code payments slowly gain ground in Japan

09/04/201809/03/2018 Stephanie Beck

The pace payment growth through quick response codes has been slow in Japan. QR code payments are steadily on the rise in the country, with the number of convenience stores, restaurants and other shops slowly adopting this convenient form of payment. Still, the pace of growth has certainly been slow, and part of this reason is due to commission fees. Stores who offer the payment method typically have to cover a 3% commission fee. Cash still remains the primary payment option in Japan, but major information technology firms are working…

Greater Change QR Codes could help homeless people in the UK

08/14/201808/13/2018 Amanda Giasson

Greater Change QR Codes - Homeless man on street

An innovative project seeks to encourage cashless donations to help those living on the streets. Greater Change QR Codes could help change the lives of homeless people in the UK for the better. At least, this is the hope of the founder of the social innovation project Greater Change, Alex McCallion, an Oxford University graduate. The quick response code allows passers-by to scan it with their smartphone and make a monetary donation to the homeless person wearing it. The project helps to integrate the homeless into an ever-growing cashless society.…

Contactless payments to account for 1 in 3 in-store transaction by 2020, report

08/06/201808/03/2018 L. Green

Payment cards and mobile wallets will reach $2 trillion in two years. Worldwide, in-store contactless payments transactions will exceed $1 trillion for the first time this year. This is according to recent data published by Juniper Research. The leading fintech analysts also estimate that, globally, in-store contactless monetary transactions will hit $2 trillion by 2020 and will represent 15 percent of the total point-of-sale transactions. Both card payments and mobile wallets are expected to drive the growing use of these payments. Even though both of these contactless payments will be…

New QR code user ID system to be launched by SafeWallet

07/30/201807/29/2018 Stephanie Beck

QR Code user ID Security System - SafeWallet Launches Updated - cryptocurrencies

The cryptocurrency wallet is upgrading its user identification security. SafeWallet, a decentralized cryptocurrency wallet app operated by China-based Cheetah Mobile, has announced the release of a new QR code user ID system. The major security update will fully replace private keys and mnemonic phrases. The new system is the first of its kind. Until this most recent update, cryptocurrency wallet users have had to use long private keys and mnemonic phrases to back up their crypto-assets, according to a press release from Blockchain Wave Lab. These private keys and mnemonic…

Ugandan government collects over $1 million from social media and mobile money tax

07/27/201807/26/2018 John Montgallo

Mobile Money Tax - Man using mobile phone

The newly introduced tax has already generated over a million dollars from Ugandan mobile users. Uganda announced that since introducing its social media and mobile money tax law, it has collected Ush7 billion (approximately $1.8 billion). The law imposes a tax on Ugandans every day they use social media services or make a money withdrawal via their mobile phone. The tax has been met with heavy criticism but is here to stay. Those who have opposed the new law, including both the public and politicians, argue that the social media…

Snapchat to shut down in-app mobile payments service

07/24/201807/23/2018 Stephanie Beck

Snapchat in-app mobile payments sevice Snapcash to shut down - Snapchat on mobile

The closure of Snapcash has been confirmed by Snapchat. The in-app mobile payments service, Snapcash, offered through social media network Snapchat, will soon no longer be available. Some speculate the closure of the mobile payments service is due to it becoming more of a liability for the company than a utility. Snapcash was being used as a method to pay for private adult content over Snapchat. Although the reason behind shutting down the in-app mobile payments feature has yet to be disclosed, TechCrunch speculates that it may be due to…

UnionPay QR Code payments expand in Vietnam

06/26/201806/25/2018 Stephanie Beck

UnionPay has reached an agreement with VNPAY UnionPay QR Code payments will now be accepted by 30,000 local merchants in Vietnam after UnionPay International (a wholly-owned subsidiary of China UnionPay) reached an agreement with QR Code payment acquirer, Vietnam Payment Solutions (VNPAY). These barcode payments will also be widely accepted by online merchants. In addition to enabling local merchants to accept these payments, both UnionPay International and VNPAY will work together to expand the acceptance of UnionPay QR code payments so that they can benefit online merchants, as well. The…

QR Code based payments coming to Hong Kong’s rail network

06/05/201806/04/2018 Sam Lambert

MTR plans to implement a payment system that uses quick response codes. In an official statement released by MTR Corporation, Hong Kong’s rail operator, the company announced that it intends to implement QR code based payments on existing AFC (Automatic Fare Collection) gates. Passengers will be required to pre-generate a QR based transit code. The new QR Code based payments system will be built on a travel first and pay after payments model. Under this new system, passengers will need to pre-generate a quick response based transit code to enter…

Social media tax and mobile money tax to hit Ugandans

06/04/201806/01/2018 Jorge Gonzalez

Social Media Tax - WhatsApp - Facebook - Mobile Apps

Uganda’s parliament approves new tax laws for Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter A new social media tax will soon come into effect for Ugandans. The approved law will impose a tax every day a citizen uses WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter or other social media services. Mobile money transactions will also be taxed. In addition to the social media tax, Ugandans will be taxed for all mobile money transactions. Citizens will be required to pay a 1% tax on all mobile money transactions. As for taxation on social media, the fee that will…

EMVCo takes steps to promote the use of EMV QR code payments

05/28/201805/27/2018 Stephanie Beck

EMVCo has created a unique royalty-free QR payment mark. This QR Payment Mark has been created for the purpose of promoting global interoperability across EMV QR code payments, according to a recent EMVCo press release. All implementers of EMV QR Code solutions can use the mark. EMVCo developed reproduction requirements as well as a free licensing structure for the mark. This enables it to be used by all who want to implement EMV QR code payments. The machine-readable quick response barcodes have grown in popularity over the years and are…

Category: Mobile Payments