A new way to pay
A pharmacy chain is looking at QR code payments as a potential replacement for card transactions – but they are not without issues.
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In a move that may have a big impact on the way we purchase goods and services, a major retailer is set to offer payment by QR code.
Chemist Warehouse recently announced the initiative, known as Pay By Bank, and other businesses are expected to follow.
The system works by directly transferring money from the purchaser’s bank account into the retailer’s, bypassing current systems offered by Visa and Mastercard and using the cheaper EFTPOS system instead.
The benefit for the retailer is that there is no surcharge paid to a third party to enable the transaction.
Chemist Warehouse is said to be paying $15 million in surcharges annually and is keen to reduce this cost.
Surcharges applying to card transactions have been a hot issue lately, with the Federal Government saying it wants to eliminate them from debit-card payments by 1 January 2026.
The ABC recently reported one instance where a business charged customers a 16.5% fee if they tapped with a credit or debit card – but only a flat 30 cents if they inserted the card in the machine and paid via EFTPOS.
Developed in Japan, QR (Quick Response) codes improve on the technology used in barcodes, and they have been used in many ways, including as price tags and links to websites.
In Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, they are displayed on signage to show users where they are and allow them to share their location with friends or delivery people.
QR codes have been used for payments in China for more than a decade and have also been introduced or this purpose in India, Malaysa, the Philippines, and the Czech Republic.
Finance expert at RMIT University Dr My Nguyen told Channel 9 the system had advantages but also cautioned about a major pitfall.
“There is a risk of scanning fraudulent QR codes, leading to unauthorised transactions,” she said.
This was illustrated by a guerilla marketing tactic used by a European cafe chain, which posted a video of somebody attaching to a lamp post a sign with a large QR code and the words: “Alex, you cheated on me. I’m leaving photos for everyone to see what you did.”
Curious passersby who clicked on the code were directed to the cafe’s website, but experts note that it could have been a ploy to drain their bank accounts.
Related reading: Nine News, AFR, Yahoo! Finance
