Standardized specifications for QR codes used in cashless payments could be put into practice as early as this summer.
The Payments Japan Association, a council on promoting cashless payments that includes representatives from the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry and the finance and information technology sectors, has announced standardized specifications. The specifications are being called "JPQR."
Currently, the multiple competing specifications have forced retailers to take time and make efforts. Standardized specifications will support the spread of cashless payments.
QR code payment systems in Japan include PayPay, a joint venture by SoftBank Corp. and Yahoo Japan Corp.; Line Pay, which is run by the communications app operator Line Corp.; and J-Coin Pay, which is being developed by Mizuho Bank, regional banks and others.
In a typical transaction, a customer approaches the cashier, says which payment service they want to use and opens the relevant smartphone app, which displays a QR code and barcode. The cashier then scans the code to complete the payment.
The problem is that different providers use different specifications for how the 10 to 20 digital elements that a QR code contains are arranged. Currently, when a store has contracts with multiple payment providers, its registers' equipment generally need to be adjusted to accommodate each type.
If the wrong provider's QR code is scanned, it could lead to a mistaken charge or other problems.
To address this, the Payments Japan Association plans to create standardize specifications for how the digits are arranged. This would allow businesses to use a single QR code for multiple payment providers.
When the standardized specifications are implemented, the industry ministry and the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry will verify the effectiveness in a pilot covering Iwate, Nagano, Wakayama and Fukuoka prefectures from August to January next year.
Chinese payment companies, however, are not expected to sign on to the Japanese specifications, so if stores want to allow tourists to use Chinese QR payments, their scanners will still need the capability for multiple codes.
The council plans to study whether compatibility with Chinese QR codes can be achieved in the future.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
