Opinion: iDEAL QR looks promising, but for the future!

In 2016, the Payment Association, brand owner of iDEAL, developed a new service where an iDEAL payment could be initiated from a QR code. By scanning this code with a mobile application on your phone, an iDEAL-payment could immediately be initiated.

iDEAL QR simplifies iDEAL-payments from the online to the offline world. The Payment Association appointed and explored various use-cases.

Donating to charity

By showing the iDEAL QR code on a collection box or billboard, the user could immediately scan the code with his/her phone and transfer an amount to charity via iDEAL.

Pay at a restaurant or café

By printing a QR-code on the receipt, the customer could pay the bill with iDEAL. The payment is immediately processed in the cash register system of the restaurant.

Pay from a screen (pay per view)

By displaying a unique iDEAL QR-code, for example a video on demand could be immediately paid for. 

Pay for an invoice

Companies are regularly sending out invoices through e-mail, including payment links for online payments. Still, many invoices are sent per post. These could add a printed iDEAL QR-code. When the invoice is paid with iDEAL, the sender is notified. 

Point-of-Sale (kiosk)payments

Paying with an iDEAL QR-code in a kiosk or store has been the last researched use-case. However, the payment process in stores has become relatively simple because of 'contactless payments', making an iDEAL QR-transaction obsolete and without additional value to comfort or speed.

There are more use-case ideas when men would like to use iDEAL QR. Think about entrepreneurs or individuals that do not have a pin-terminal at their disposal and prefer not to receive cash money. Not only iDEAL QR could be a solution for that. With the new possibility of Consumer to Consumer (C2C) payments, new business models are available here as well. 

So many opportunities! Why wait?

The iDEAL QR-app forms another barrier. For safe, reliable iDEAL QR-payments, the QR-code must currently be scanned with the specially designed iDEAL-app. At the moment, this app has solely 30.000 downloads and its reach is therefore limited. 

The scan process should be integrated in current mobile banking apps of banks that are already present on smartphones of people. Luckily, this is about to happen, only it will take some time. The exact planning is not clear yet. It is expected that the largest banks will have integrated the function in the third quarter of 2017. Every user could then make an iDEAL QR-payment on their mobile banking app without the iDEAL app. This will enforce the reach and adoption of iDEAL QR strongly. 

Investing in iDEAL QR is definitely recommendable for the previously named use-cases. Make sure that you are selecting the right moment for launch when there is enough reach and adoption of the iDEAL QR. Until then, there could obviously be worked with pilots and testing.