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Cheap, easy, work on everything. Some huge proportion of payments in China are already done with QR codes (WeChat/AliPay). From the consumer side basically an
by nucleardog 5y ago
Cheap, easy, work on everything.
Some huge proportion of payments in China are already done with QR codes (WeChat/AliPay).
From the consumer side basically any phone that can (1) run apps (2) communicate with the internet and (3) has a camera supports payments this way. You may recognize that as "every single smartphone". A $100 little 2" Unihertz Jelly Pro supprots it. A $30 old used phone off of Aliexpress supports it.
From the merchant end, there's no extra hardware requirements. Literally just print a QR code and stick it on the counter and you're ready to accept payments. (E.g., https://sampi.co/wechat-pay/ https://sampi.co/wechat-pay/) Some of the smaller shops just have you show them your screen showing the payment being sent. Others will keep a phone or other device on hand to confirm the payment was received on their end.
Half of the value of a payment system is in it being ubiquitous. The onboarding experience with QR codes is so hilariously simple and accessible that it's much easier to get that market penetration.