The return of the QR code as a means of payment is a fact. Through the cell phone, you can read it and pay instantly at the supermarket, the service station or the taxi.
In Argentina, more than one million people already use it and the Central Bank established that in two years the businesses that implement it will be freed from accepting credit cards, since they will be equivalent collection means.
In this sense, large companies launched to test their use and customer loyalty with promotions and discounts. Meanwhile, SMEs and entrepreneurs outline strategies to join the trend in the short term.
The credit cards tremble
One of the electronic wallets that allows QR codes usage is Todo Pago, from Prisma, the company that operates the Visa, Banelco and Pago Mis Cuentas brands in the country.
"During 2018 we tripled the number of downloads of the application, both to pay in shops and services, top-ups and cell phones," explains Santiago Benvenuto, manager of New Business Development at iProUP.
About operations with QR, he assures that they have been doubling every month during the last quarter. Its advantages are already known: consumers highlight the convenience and speed of paying with the cell phone, without carrying cash or credit cards.
On the side of companies, it improves customer service by offering new means of collection and with lower operating costs. In addition, there are benefits for not using physical money, such as security at the point of sale.
In this sense, Benvenuto explained: "A good shopping experience always helps to retain customers." According to surveys made to the users of the Todo Pago app, 74% rated it as very good and indicated that it gained time, it was innovative and it seemed safe.
"Beyond the promotional benefits, the functional advantages of comfort and practicality stand out," he adds.
For the time being, from the signing they made alliances in 100 YPF service stations and in 50 Farmacity branches.
"We see that users already take it as a means of frequent payment, so we will be launching more agreements with other companies," said Benvenuto.
Another way to build customer loyalty is through the highly valued discounts. In YPF, the Todo Pago application offers a 40% discount until the end of the month for those who pay with QR.
On the other hand, Axion's clients obtain a 5% discount with Mercado Pago, the Mercado Libre virtual wallet launched at the end of May.
Axion Energy was the first service station to accept payments with QR, a year ago. Consulted by iProUP, they explained that from the first month that they started, at the end of 2016, until November of this year the sales through this modality multiplied more than 50 times.
"This innovation allowed consumers to shorten the fuel loading time, they no longer depend on the beach vendor to carry out the transaction and do not need to get out of the car, as they receive the receipt by mail," the company's executives explain to iProUP.
Mercado Pago already has more than 200,000 merchants that accept QR and process more than 2.4 million monthly transactions. Through the app it offers promotions of up to 20% in local gastronomy, kiosks, service stations, supermarkets and neighborhood stores.
"We always try to take actions to massify the use of the QR Code as a means of payment and payment," Paula Arregui, senior vice president of Mercado Pago Product, explained to iProUP.
For example, they devised a system of discounts through a game on social networks, which users had more savings opportunities if they shared a link with friends.
"If we think that the general public already uses their cell phone for almost everything in their daily routine, it is natural that to pay in shops prefer to use the same tool instead of cash or cards," said Arregui.
It is also difficult for locals to think about how to build customer loyalty if they are not banked. First, because of the discomfort of paying large amounts in cash. And second, for not being able to access the discounts proposed by the cards with the banks.
In this sense, the executive of Mercado Libre explained: "The application can be used without a bank account, in our country, half of the population is not banked, but there is a high degree of connectivity due to the massification of smartphones."
Yacaré was the first platform with which it was paid with QR in Argentina. It was, specifically, to pay a patent to the AGIP, the collection agency of the government of the city of Buenos Aires.
This fintech allows through this technology to pay taxes and services. They currently have 350,000 users and add up to 300 new users per month.
In an interview with iProUP, the director of Yacaré, Salvador Celía, explained that they use this modality from the beginning because they are convinced that it is one of the best experiences for the user.
In this sense, he considers that there is a cultural change in the whole world about the use of the smartphone to make purchases. In Argentina, nine out of 10 people use the smartphone to connect to the Internet at least once a day. And six out of 10 made a transaction through the device.
"The choice of taking the cell phone out of pocket to pay for the cards will be something more common every day, and the QR code will be the channel that provides a better experience," adds Celia.
In this regard, he points out that "the immediacy of the response is essential to get the consumer's attention", since "this is where the QR can offer a good shopping experience and act as a loyalty factor".
Companies of all sizes
In Argentina, there are already 200 thousand businesses that use QR through Mercado Pago. However, there are many small and medium enterprises, and even more so entrepreneurs, who analyze how to join and which campaign they can outline.
The Guido shoe store, an Argentinean company that opened its doors in 1952, decided to incorporate QR charges this year. As they explained, they do not carry out a promotions or discounts strategy, but they have this service as a possibility for those customers who prefer to pay with the application.
"We are a very traditional company that is slowly trying to digitize, first with e-commerce and now with QR, we want to attract younger people and for that we must aggiornarse and accompany the trends," they say in dialogue with iProUP.
Guapaletas, an artisan ice cream company, also joined the move this year. Federico Manzuoli, one of the creators of the brand, points out that almost 20% of operations are already done by this means and the use is in consumers up to 45 years. "We thought that only the millennials used it and when we saw the data we were surprised", Manzuoli tells iProUP.
Since they incorporated this modality, they offer the promotions and discounts that they promote from Mercado Pago. However, in 2019 they will seek that, in addition to a collection alternative, it is a strategy for customer loyalty.
"Guapaletas is very young, we have only been in the market for three years and we already have branches all over the country, now our next step will be to know the consumer." A strategy could be oriented, through the QR code, namely the birthday of the client, and that day we sent him some gift palettes, "says Manzuoli.
In addition, he adds: "To make a link with the new generations, we need to get closer, live an experience without having to come to the point of sale."
Different is the case in entrepreneurs. Yasmin Anania, 25 years old fashion designer, began a year ago Sentido Vertical, a brand of high fashion dresses.
In your showroom you have the possibility of having the customer pay with a card through Point, a Mercado Pago device to pass debit credit cards from the cell phone. But they evaluate adding to the QR next year.
"We are two partners who do everything and we have to be aware of the trends, including those of payment." We see that the client likes technology, such as when he has to sign with his finger on the screen of my phone. Entrepreneurship is updated, so we are already analyzing how to implement it, "Anania said.
On the strategy, he explains: "It will be at a discount of at least 5% on any of our garments." This is because Mercado Pago charges a lower commission when customers pay with QR and not with a credit card, so it will transfer the benefit to the consumer.
Because of the great year that the QR code had and because of the temptation it arouses in small and medium-sized companies, numbers are expected to grow exponentially in the short and medium term.
In this sense, the director of Yacaré, Salvador Celía, concluded: "We hope that what is becoming popular today begins to consolidate and see that payments with QR quickly become an image of everyday life."
