SOUTH AFRICA – Financial services group Absa,  is expanding its digital payment options with the introduction of QR Payments, a “drastic shifts in banking behaviour towards digital banking and e-commerce”.

In a statement, the bank said it has taken its latest step towards expanding its ever-growing digital payments universe with the launch of QR payments

“With our QR Payments functionality, which is free of charge, Absa customers registered on the Absa Mobile Banking App can now scan any QR code in the market and Absa will process payments, without the need to download any other service provider apps,” Absa Retail managing executive Cowyk Fox said.

According to the bank, all payments will have to be authenticated by customers using their Absa Banking App PIN code.

“Customers will have the security of Absa’s free digital fraud warranty, which all customers who make use of the Absa Mobile Banking App have access to,”Fox added.

In 2020, Absa said it witnessed a 200 percent increase in contactless payments, while e-commerce levels doubled.

The bank said its customers also have access to other digital payment options such as the recently launched Apple Pay, Garmin Pay, and Fitbit Pay, as well as Samsung Pay.

The bank also launched its virtual card in 2020, which customers can use to retrieve their full card details and make commerce payments.

“Absa continuously looks to improve the payment experience for our customers, and we constantly consider various technologies as they become available to the market. Customers can look forward to more exciting announcements soon,” Fox added.

“With our QR Payments functionality, which is free of charge, Absa customers registered on the Absa Mobile Banking App can now scan any QR code in the market and Absa will process payments, without the need to download any other service provider apps”

Cowyk Fox – Retail Managing Executive, Absa Bank

Absa joins Nedbank in the introduction of the QR payments system, after Nedbank announced that its customers could withdraw cash without touching the ATM using the QR code.

Nedbank also integrated the technology into its Money App.

In March 2021, South Africa’s online payment gateway company PayFast reported that it saw a 412 percent growth in QR code payments between March 2020 and February 2021, as digital payments have become the norm for shopping in person or online, said the company in a statement.

The online payment gateway also saw an 83 percent increase in total payment volumes and more than 40,000 new merchant accounts were registered since the start of lockdown last year, compared with the same period in 2019.

“Digital payments are increasingly becoming the standard for retail in our current climate, with almost 7 million users on our payment engine over the past 12 months,” said Jonathan Smit, managing director and founder of PayFast.

The increase in mobile payments has largely been driven by the surge in mobile commerce and the convenience of digital payments.

Smit said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has boosted the role and popularity of digital payment methods for consumers shopping online and in person.”

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