The State Bank of Pakistan has issued standards for Quick Response (QR) code-based payments in Pakistan in order to accelerate the digitization of retail payments.
These requirements must be met before issuing QR codes and accepting payments through them. Pakistan has joined the list of countries that have taken similar steps to promote low-cost digitization of payment services, particularly at the retail level, with the issuance of a single country-wide QR code standard.
This initiative is part of the SBP’s efforts to promote payment system inclusion, innovation, and modernization in the country.
Dr. Reza Baqir, Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, announced the development and issuance of a single QR code earlier this year while chairing the fifth stakeholders’ consultation meeting on Digital Financial Services in August 2021.
QR code-based payments are becoming increasingly popular around the world due to their low cost and ease of use via mobile applications.
However, in Pakistan, QR codes issued by financial institutions are not usually based on common industry standards and have limited interoperability, resulting in low acceptance and usage.
As a result, SBP formed an industry consultative group to develop common QR code standards, which are based on EMVCo’s QR code specifications for merchant payments.
EMVCo is a global technical body that manages and evolves the EMV specifications and related testing processes to facilitate global interoperability and acceptance of secure payment transactions.
The standards are intended to be adaptable to new and innovative use-cases, with data objects designated for scheme, acquirer, and SBP future use.
SBP has issued two variations to facilitate the issuance and adoption of QR code-based payments: one for person-to-person payments and the other for person-to-merchant payments.
Banks and financial institutions would use the person to person (P2P) standard to generate personalized QR codes for their customers, which would allow them to receive payments on their mobile apps.
To read our blog on “HBL Launches Industry’s First Fully ERP-Integrated QR Payment Solution,” click here.
