Payment by QR code is coming in Hungary

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 06. 24. 12:07

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At the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, due to its technological backwardness, Hungary skipped payment by check and went directly to payment by bank card. In contrast, in other countries, such as Slovenia, the use of checks was common even in the 1990s, which imposed a significant administrative burden on people.

In the case of China, it similarly missed a technological step, but instead of bank card payment, QR code payment took over the leading role. The spread of QR code payments has allowed them to bypass traditional bank card companies, so Alipay and Wechat dominate in China.

In Hungary, even though bank card payment is dominant, it comes with significant costs: merchants can pay up to 3% fee per transaction, which significantly reduces their profit. This motivated the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) to make it mandatory for all banks to offer the QR code payment method from September 2023, which offers a cheaper and transaction tax-free alternative.

The QR code payment, which enables an immediate transfer between the buyer and the seller, is not only more economical, but also faster. The payment method is called “qvik”, which refers to speed, and customers are not charged any extra costs when using it. As a result, if merchants can use this method even 1.5% cheaper than traditional card acceptance, a significant improvement in the speed of introduction can be expected.