Gone are the days when carrying a bulky wallet full of cash was a requirement whenever thinking to travel. People are still customary to take wallets, but it does not have to be cumbersome, especially after the Indian government familiarizes citizens with Digital India’s concept. Going cashless at counters is a trendier and more accessible option than flashing a physical rupee at an outlet.
With several choices available to people for making transactions, the QR Code is the most preferred and convenient methodology. Before this, most people relied on credit and debit transactions, but since the introduction of the Unified Payment Interface or UPI, smartphones are the new debit cards or wallets seen in almost everyone’s hands. Hence, the Indian government came up with a Bharat QR code to make digital payments seamlessly.
Bharat QR and the benefit of Going Cashless
After launching the BHIM App or Bharat Interface for Money, the Government of India enabled a QR Code transaction for people to pay merchants when they buy goods from retail outlets. This QR code was named Bharat. As part of the process, the retailers or merchants must put up the QR codes inside their store, and customers can scan the code from any mobile banking app which supports Bharat QR scanning.
The best part about paying from a Bharat QR code is its security over the other modes. It is pretty inconvenient for merchants to pay convenience charges on swiping machines as a customer prefers to use a debit or credit card; however, when considering to pay with a QR code, things are less complicated with different modes of payment to choose for virtual transactions.
Let’s look into a list of benefits that can make people consider to pay with a QR code:
Payments are more secure
Every coin has two sides, and the same goes for digitalization. While cashless experience is a one-hit-wonder for customers, cybercrime and leaking of information to the third party are very much real. Usually, when a customer enters a payment gateway, they are asked to put card details which easily get hacked or transferred to another browser. But things are safe with Bharat QR because it does not ask for such credentials or information while making payment. Hence, no risk of cyber fraud.
No Additional transaction cost for Merchants
As mentioned above, merchants have to pay an additional convenience fee when using swiping machines at their checkout counter. However, since the arrival of the Bharat QR code, merchants and customers have had a hassle-free experience in making and receiving payments online. There are no hidden costs or fees involved for any parties, and online transactions go smoothly.
Most Mobile Banking Apps are Bharat QR-enabled
Since Bharat QR is a government-introduced QR Code, most mobile banking apps support it. Even renowned payment apps like Paytm and PhonePe also support the method to pay with QR code enabled with Bharat. So sticking a Bharat QR code by a retail owner or merchant inside a store would make any customer, regardless of their bank, scan and make payment easily irrespective of their bank
Availability of Multiple Payment options
Bharat QR gives customers a choice to make payment for whatever mode they feel suitable and less troublesome. A customer might want to make payment at the counter from their credit card, but they suddenly realize they left the card at home. So having a Bharat Qr code at the checkout counter makes it easy for them to scan it and choose credit card as the mode of payment, or even UPI and debit card.
The option to receive Limitless Payment by the merchant
Banks or other payment apps could certainly impose restrictions on the merchant to receive a certain amount of transactions in a single day. However, there is no such restriction when it comes to Bharat QR. As a merchant, you can receive an unlimited number of transactions that would settle into the account once conducted from the IMPS method in due time. There are no restrictions as no intermediate gateways exist between you and your customer.
How to get the Bharat QR Code?
The steps to get a Bharat QR code are pretty simple:
- Download the BHIM app and connect your bank account.
- Select the option to generate a QR code from the App.
- You can now print the QR code and Post it on your store checkout counter.
As soon as your customer scans the QR code from a payment app, they will be redirected to choose the mode of payment (UPI or Debit/Credit Card) and pay securely from their account.
