Scan, don't tap

Tapping your phone on a terminal feels like the future. It is not. It is a payment routed through a wallet operator, a card scheme and a leased piece of hardware, all of whom take a cut and keep a record of everything you buy, where and when. There is a simpler way to pay with your phone, and it has been in front of us the whole time: point your camera at a QR code.

Here are three reasons to scan instead of tap.

1. No middleman

A QR payment goes from bank to bank, directly. There is no wallet operator sitting between you and the shop, logging what you spend and where. When you tap, Apple or Google sees every transaction. When you scan, only you and your bank do. What you buy is nobody else’s business.

2. Any phone works

Tapping needs NFC, a supported handset and a wallet app that your bank has agreed to work with. Scanning needs a camera. That is it. If the camera works, the payment works, including on older and cheaper phones.

3. Cheaper for shops

A QR code costs nothing to run. No terminal lease, no markup on the payment, no software subscription. Compare that to the monthly bill for a card reader that needs charging, updating and, sooner or later, replacing. Tapping is expensive and scanning costs nothing at all.

Scan, don’t tap

• 0 terminals to lease, charge, or replace
• 1 app you already trust: the one from your own bank
• 2 seconds to point, confirm and pay

Ask your bank for EPC QR payments. Ask your shop to use the code, because the cheapest, most open payment method in the world is a simple QR code with zero commission. Are you a shop owner? Then you can make the switch today.