Vodafone UK on Friday showed there is still life in the humble QR code by enabling prepay customers to scan one in order to top up their credit.
The telco is testing out a new top-up application developed by mobile payment firm PowaTag. Once the customer has downloaded the app and registered their payment details, they then use it by scanning a QR code which brings up a choice of top-up amounts. All they need to do then is select how much credit they want to add.
The app is currently only compatible with Android and iOS handsets.
"We’re piloting the tech at the moment by putting PowaTag in our retail stores across the country," said Vodafone UK, on its official blog.
The company is also deploying QR codes in branches of Argos, ho meware store BrightHouse, and supermarkets Co-op and Tesco. In August, PowaTags will also be rolled out in Asda and Sainsbury’s supermarkets, and high-street homeware shop Wilko.
Vodafone also has a partnership with university admissions provider UCAS that involves sending free SIM cards to international students. Students who receive one of these SIMs can also try out the PowaTag service, Vodafone said.
QR codes and the companies that rely on them are fighting an uphill battle because smartphones do not ship with native QR code scanners. It means that customers must first be persuaded to download one from a mobile app store.
QR codes – also known as 2D barcodes – also face competition from the likes of near-field communications (NFC) and beacons, which are growing in popularity as mobile point-of-sale (POS) and customer-engagement technologies.
One QR code specialist, ScanLife, offers its scanner app on Android, BlackBerry, iOS and Windows Phone in 140 countries, and boasts many 10s of millions of downloads.
According to its own data though, it was used 22 million times in the first quarter of 2015. In the same period a year earlier, it was used 21.8 million times.
Vodafone UK may soon find out if there is a future for QR codes, or if they should be consigned to history.
