1 QR Code Merchant Payments A growth opportunity for mobile money providers In partnership with The GSMA represents the interests of Accourt is a specialist, IP-led global NTT DATA is a leading IT services mobile operators worldwide, uniting payments consultancy, providing strategic provider and global innovation partner AUTHORS more than 750 operators with nearly and operational payments consultancy headquartered in Tokyo, with business 400 companies in the broader mobile services worldwide. Its consultants are operations in over 50 countries. Our ecosystem, including handset and device experienced practitioners with front line emphasis is on long-term commitment, GSMA makers, software companies, equipment P&L experience, combining unrivalled combining global reach with local intimacy Anant Nautiyal, Senior Manager, providers and internet companies, as strategic expertise with operational to provide premier professional services Inclusive Tech Lab well as organisations in adjacent industry know-how. From defining and setting varying from consulting and systems Bart-Jan Pors, Director, sectors. The GSMA also produces the strategy, implementation, through to final development to outsourcing. Inclusive Fintech Mobile Money industry-leading MWC events held annually delivery, Accourt is dedicated to minimising Bruno Martins, Technology Lead, in Barcelona, Los Angeles and Shanghai, operational risk and ensuring a successful For more information, visit Inclusive Tech Lab as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional outcome for its clients. Accourt has a www.nttdata.com conferences. passion for delivering real and lasting value Accourt and brings focused, world-class expertise Vaughan Collie, Managing Partner For more information, please visit to complement client teams. the GSMA corporate website at NTT Data www.gsma.com For more information about Accourt, Akihiro Ishizuka, Global Head of Payments please visit www.accourt.com Jannen Vamadeva, Head of Fintech Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA Research contributors: Ryo Hoshino, Manager, Security THE MOBILE MONEY PROGRAMME IS SUPPORTED BY THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION Engineering Department; Yoneda Ayaka, QR Code Technology R&D; Taguchi Hirotomo, QR Code Technology R&D; Takita Mika, QR Code Technology R&D; Foong Lye Mun, Payments Marketing Manager Contents Section 4: Technical specifications of leading Executive summary 4 26 QR code payment schemes Section 5: Charting a course for interoperable Section 1: Rationale for this report 8 33 QR code merchant payments Section 2: The rise of QR codes in payments 12 Section 6: Key trends, findings and call to action 40 Section 3: Three primary QR code merchant 19 Appendices 49 payments flows Executive summary Executive summary 5 Mobile money providers (MMPs) are key players In 2019, 640 million Alipay customers regularly 10 in the provision of financial services in emerging transacted in two or more Alibaba Group markets. MMPs now see QR code merchant ecosystem product/service categories. Another payments as a potential adjacent opportunity to 190 million regularly transact in five or more USD trillion 8 expand their products and services and target categories. potential incremental revenue streams. While this report does not advocate a “copycat” Globally, digital payments are expected to reach approach of the Chinese market and its players, 6 an annual transaction value of USD 4.4 trillion we can learn much from events in China and in 2020, with 17 per cent CAGR through 2024.* many other schemes around the world, whether With growth rates like this, it is not surprising newly emerging, rapidly growing or somewhere that merchant payments have captured the in between. 4 interest of many stakeholders, including MMPs. QR code payments are enjoying significant but fragmented global growth, often competing 2 with long-established payment methods, such as card payments. There are a number of QR code schemes around the world, but none more successful than the two primary Chinese players, 0 2017 2018 2019 f2020 f2021 f2022 f2023 f2024 Alipay and WeChat Pay. Digital commerce Mobile POS payments Executive summary 6 To facilitate this, the report provides an insight The interoperability journey into a wide range of QR code deployments and specifications globally – including the Chinese DOMESTIC CROSS-BORDER giants (Alipay, WeChat Pay) of course, but also Government/regulator-led other QR code specifications like EMV, JPQR, multilateral cross-border interoperability Bharat QR, HKQR, SGQR, QRIS, Prompt Pay, Mercado Pago and Pix, among others. QR code merchant payments present a and sophistication Maturity significant, but potentially complex opportunity Government/regulator-led for MMPs, and the challenges and strategic bilateral cross-border Government/regulator-led interoperability domestic interoperability benefits must be considered carefully. Bilateral outbound/ In particular, interoperability is a crucial inbound interoperability requirement for the industry to achieve a harmonised customer experience for QR code merchant payments, driving customer adoption, Closed loop outbound/ inbound interoperability transaction volumes and overall profitability. Provider consolidation Joint venture/consortium limited open loop scheme Proprietary, closed loop scheme Elapsed time Executive summary 7 Key lessons • MMPs with large and active USSD • QR code merchant payments • Regulatory approaches and customer bases will need to carefully have several key enablers and interventions differ between consider the best course of action interdependencies, most of geographies, for example, African to avoid excluding these customers which must be addressed to and Chinese regulators have played from the QR code payments journey, increase chances of success. For a limited role until now (although this while also recognising and addressing example: device affordability, is changing), while Southeast Asian practical challenges, such as device internet connectivity, wallet/bank and Indian regulators have played an affordability and connectivity. account penetration and merchant extremely active role in QR schemes distribution. from the outset. • Having a core ecosystem of products and services that continues to drive • Market dynamics and nuances are • On its own, a QR code merchant high levels of customer engagement important. While developing markets payments P&L is unlikely to be is crucial. (Payments should support in Asia tend to have high smartphone compelling. Rather, value will these ecosystems; they are not the and internet penetration, developing be derived from data. However, ecosystem). markets in Africa tend to have low QR codes have the potential to smartphone and internet penetration. significantlyaccelerate digitisation These call for fundamentally different of economic activity in emerging approaches. markets, paving the way for additional tailored services to be provided to customers, leading to further revenue streams. • QR codes are an increasingly ubiquitous Rationale for payment channel around the world. • In emerging markets, mobile money providers are at the forefront of using QR this report codes, but face several challenges. • This report is intended as a resource for mobile money providers that wish to adopt and/or grow their QR code merchant payments ecosystems. QR codes are an increasingly ubiquitous payment channel 9 around the world In 2018, Chinese consumer and business mobile The rapid growth of mobile and digital payments Consumer digital payments payment volumes reached USD 41 trillion,* about around the world offers mobile money providers Top five countries, volumes (f2020) 30 per cent ($13 trillion) of which were QR code (MMPs) an opportunity to expand their mobile payments, primarily through Alipay (founded in money ecosystems to provide mobile payment China 44% 2004) and WeChat Pay (founded in 2011). services to consumers and merchants. 1,921 Other countries, such as Denmark, India, South Currently, the mobile payments market is Korea and Sweden, also have high mobile being served by MMPs, fintechs, smartphone United States 20% payments adoption rates, with the US, Canada, providers, e-commerce providers and banks. 896 Norway and Japan not far behind. Within mobile payments, QR code merchant payments are growing rapidly across Asia, Africa Japan 4% Global mobile payments** adoption is and Latin America. expected to grow by about 27 per cent 165 (CAGR, 2020–2025). QR code merchant payments offer a United Kingdom 4% significant opportunity for MMPs, but they are As a subset of mobile payments, consumer not without challenges. 164 digital payments volumes are expected to top $4.4 trillion in 2020.*** The top five countries South Korea 2% account for almost 75 per cent of the total, but all of Africa contributes just 1.8 per cent of the 114 total. Rest of World 26% * All values are in US dollars 1,147 ** This includes mobile-based NFC payments *** Statista, 2020 (adjusting for expected effects of COVID-19) US$ billions In developing markets mobile money providers are at the forefront 10 of using QR codes, but face several challenges Developing markets, such as those on the MMPs in developing markets are seeking especially as few users will tolerate having many African continent and Indian sub-continent, to expand their mobile money ecosystems wallets. have for a long time been exploring the mobile into merchant payments by building on core The approach that MMPs take to understanding money opportunity from different perspectives,