KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 — The volume of QR code payments in the leading South-east Asian market will increase from 13 billion in 2023 to 90 billion in 2028, according to a new study from Juniper Research.

According to Juniper Research in a statement, high growth in South-east Asia and other developing markets is largely down to financial inclusivity that QR payments offer; enabling unbanked users to access digital payments.

Conversely, Western markets have seen very limited adoption; highlighting the global divide in QR payment markets.

The report found national QR payment schemes, including India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Brazil’s Pix, an instant payment platform, played a key role in encouraging market adoption, with their success driving implementation of national schemes this year in Kenya and Bangladesh.

However, it found significant growth to market volume will come from cross-border interoperability within South-east Asian markets.

While international interoperability has been offered from payment providers like Alipay for years, national QR payment standards are now unifying across borders; enabling wider interoperability.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have already unified their payment standards; enabling businesses to accept payments from international visitors using their domestic digital wallets, while Singapore and the Philippines set to collaborate by year-end; further unifying payments across the region.

The adoption of QR payments overall in the west remains low, but the research identified the area of QR peer-to-peer (P2P) bank transfers has gained significant traction since 2022, with Belgium’s Payconiq and Spain’s Bizum used by a significant proportion of users.

Furthermore, Revolut and Vipps MobilePay have been promoting P2P and business-based QR solutions across Europe through reduced transaction fees. To maximise adoption, payment providers should focus on offering competitive pricing versus established local payment methods. — Bernama