Merchant-presented QR codes are similar to scanning a product’s barcode at a grocery store.
But instead of a typical transaction in which you hand a cashier your product at checkout, a merchant-presented QR code allows businesses to present a QR code that customers scan with their phone. After scanning the merchant’s code, a customer can simply perform the digital payment through their phone. Once the customer enters the transaction amount, the merchant receives a transaction confirmation on their mobile app, which thus completes the transaction.
Merchant-presented QR codes are especially popular in Asia and other countries where mobile smartphone use is high and Internet access is ubiquitous. With static QR codes, a business will typically display a merchant-presented QR code on a countertop or menu via a decal, sticker, or piece of paper.
It’s now also common for businesses to offer dynamic QR codes. Dynamic QR codes are generated at the time of the transaction and displayed on the point-of-sale system or on the merchant’s mobile device via an app such as Pri-Num’s white-label application or SDK.
A dynamic QR code encodes all the data of the transaction and provides a better customer experience as it eliminates the need to enter a transaction amount.