UnionPay, one of the world’s largest card payment networks, and epay, the full-service payment provider owned by Euronet Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT), have launched UnionPay’s innovative QR code payment service in Europe, the companies announced today.

The agreement between UnionPay’s international business unit, UnionPay International (UPI), and epay, Europe’s leading full-service payments provider and a global leader in digital payments processing and prepaid solutions, represents the first time UnionPay’s QR code payments — also known as UnionPay App — can be settled in Europe for Chinese tourists and other UnionPay card users from all over the world.

Through this new partnership, epay is expanding its portfolio with the addition of a consumer-centric and user-friendly payment method. In its domestic Chinese market in recent years, the service has grown into one of the most popular QR payment methods as UPI has expanded the ecosystem for payments in response to growing consumer interest in simple, contactless mobile payment methods.

More than 13 million merchants in 96 countries and regions outside the Chinese mainland now support the UnionPay mobile payment method. Entry into the European market marks a great milestone for UPI, with customers able to benefit from the option to pay easily, securely and quickly.

The partnership also reinforces epay’s status as one of the most important payment aggregators in Europe with the ability to offer European merchants access to a large customer base with UnionPay, one of the world’s leading card payment providers who has issued more than 190 million cards outside mainland China and provides card acceptance in 181 countries and regions.

The payments sector in Asia has seen strong and growing demand from consumers for QR code-based payments, a trend spreading to more countries around the world. When paying at a POS terminal under the consumer-presented mode, the user’s payment app generates a QR code which is scanned by the retailer to trigger payment, with the process completed in a few seconds.

QR payments work on all smartphones and retailers can incorporate the function into their existing payment infrastructure without major additional investments. Risk controls for QR code payments are highly effective due to transaction monitoring in real time and precise authentication capabilities.

While the main advantages of QR code payments include cost, flexibility and security, epay’s retail partners also benefit from the ability to integrate not only UnionPay QR, but also other popular QR payments, classical payment methods and value-added services such as tax-free and dynamic currency conversion services, gift cards, prepaid cards and loyalty schemes.

“We are delighted to announce this partnership because UnionPay App is a prime example of how a leading global card provider is adapting to new customer needs,” said Kevin Caponecchi, Executive VP and CEO, epay, Software and EFT Asia Pacific Division. “With its QR code payment solution, UnionPay offers a well-integrated, seamless mobile payment experience for customers. Through integration into the epay merchant network with over 777,000 point-of-sale terminals, UnionPay can offer its users an attractive range of brands and retailers across Europe.”

“UnionPay is committed to building up the cashless society by providing the most advanced payment technology to the cardholders, and the UnionPay App is a perfect illustration of this,” said Shengliang Yang, Deputy Head of UnionPay International Europe branch. “By establishing QR code payment cooperation with epay, the UnionPay cardholders will get access to a more convenient payment service with an easy tap through UnionPay App.”

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By FintechNews staff

–Stamps have been collected for decades. Neatly filed in albums,  they are the epitome of cultivated collecting. Together with Swiss Post, Inacta is now building a bridge between the physical and digital worlds. The Swiss Crypto Stamp means collecting, exchanging and trading stamps will go digital on 25 November 2021. 

-175,000 stamps will be created, with each physical example comes with a digital version that can be collected or traded.

–The Swiss Crypto Stamp consists of two parts. On the one hand, it is a physical stamp worth CHF 8.90 – self-adhesive, for franking postal items just like any other stamp. On the other hand, each crypto stamp  has an associated digital image. This digital image shows the image of the physical stamp but is  extended by one of 13 possible additional visuals

–The digital images are stored as so-called NFTs (non-fungible  tokens) on a blockchain. They show monumental Swiss mountains, partly combined with animal  landmarks shining as constellations.

–The digital image of the Swiss Crypto Stamp, the NFT, is deposited on the Polygon Blockchain1. Inacta  has provided all the necessary technical solutions for this bridge into the digital world. 

-The stamps will be sold in a “blind box” format, meaning that buyers will not know which variation they are buying until it is delivered. “Buyers only discover what the digital twin of their physical stamp looks like when they go online.” Each stamp comes with a QR code that allows owners access to the digital versions.

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“With this technology Versatile can embed dynamic, cryptographically-signed, and time-constrained QR codes, which customers can simply scan with their smartphone camera to launch on their mobile device”, said Bill Kratzer, Chief Innovation Officer at Versatile Credit. “This helps lenders and retailers validate an applicant’s in-store presence while reducing risk of fraudulent use and malicious tampering.”

“While the technology was initially developed to address the demand for unobtrusive methods of validating the location of a customer, the pandemic began to change the way retailers and shoppers looked at the shopping experience,” said Vicki Turjan, President and Chief Operating Officer of Versatile Credit, “Because of this renewed focus on safety, Snap Sign’s contactless, self-service nature became even more relevant in today’s retail environment.”

Versatile’s secure QR code technology is not limited to only the credit application process.  It can also be leveraged for other parts of the sales, financing, and check-out process — from learning more about products to mobile check out and beyond.

“Snap Sign is an illustration of Versatile’s focus on fostering and building new, innovative solutions to help our retail and lending partners address the evolving challenges and opportunities they are facing in building seamless, omnichannel shopping and financing experiences for consumers”, Turjan said.

Snap Sign is the newest addition to Versatile Credit’s platform of in-store and online engagement points, including kiosks, tablets, e-commerce plugins and remote sales tools. Versatile’s platform seamlessly transitions applicants to secondary and tertiary providers if the application is denied, providing shoppers across the FICO spectrum with multiple opportunities to receive a financing offer. Retailers can leverage Versatile’s comprehensive dashboard and analytics tools to gain actionable insights and benchmark the performance of their financing program down to the sales associate level.

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