Quick response code scans are giving consumers the ability to make payments quickly and easily.
People living in Korea are now taking advantage of a new service that allows them to scan QR codes in convenience stores in order to make bill payments, pay their taxes, pay for health fees, and certain other expenses, even after normal bank business hours.
This service based on quick response codes has been implemented by the u-billing service in the country.
While this has been becoming increasingly common in Korea, the service has now added a new kind of payment that can be made through scanning QR codes. This is the payment of social insurance bills. These include healthcare insurance and national pension. This is making it far easier for people in Korea to be able to fit their payments into their busy lives, as they don’t need to try to rush to the bank at some point during business hours. Instead, they can simply head to the convenience store – of which there are an extremely large number within the country’s urban centers – and use their smartphones to make the payment.
These QR codes are found in convenience stores and can be used at any time that the shops are open.
The u-billing service provider, Duzon BizOn, has revealed that the four major social insurance programs in the country, including employment insurance, national pension, workers’ compensation, and health insurance are now all compatible and can be paid at the local convenience store. This is an expansion over what had already been provided, which includes the payment of local taxes and general utility bills.
This service has become quite popular, as most convenience stores are open 24 hours per day and every day of the week. It allows the user who scans the QRcode to choose from a number of different payment options, including bank transfers, cash, credit cards, and a range of others.
This is just the latest in a number of expansions that have been occurring around the world that have been using QR codes as an element of their payments and commerce strategies. Very recently, Alibaba Group officially launched its Mashang Tao business strategy and it included these barcodes in its payments transactions across all of its partner merchants, for a more universal and standard consumer experience.