RBI Releases Report Of Committee For Analysis of QR Code

The Reserve Bank of India placed on its website the 'Report of the Committee for Analysis of QR (Quick Response) Code'. The Committee was constituted by RBI on December 23, 2019 under the Chairmanship of Prof. D.B. Phatak (Professor Emeritus, IIT-Bombay) to review the prevalent system of QR Codes in India for facilitating digital payments and submit recommendations. 5The Reserve Bank invites comments / suggestions on the report from all stakeholders and members of public which may be forwarded by email on / before August 10, 2020.

Post demonetization, the acceptance infrastructure for QR codes has seen tremendous growth. As a result, QR based payments are rapidly increasing. One can simply scan a QR code to pay utility bills, fuel, grocery, food, travel, and several other categories. The acceptance infrastructure is a key element for the overall development of digital payments in India. The committee invited views of various industry players currently involved in or associated with the use of QR codes. The committee benefited from the perspectives and insights of these participants and derived deep knowledge to drive digital adoption in the country. The presentations and discussions also helped the Committee to develop a comprehensive view of the issues, suggestions and opportunities.

Proprietary, closed loop QR codes are a hindrance to an open, interoperable payments ecosystem. The report noted that there should be a clear plan to phase out proprietary, closed loop QR codes in favour of open, interoperable standards. Considering the scale of the country, multiple interoperable QR codes should drive the acceptance infrastructure in coming years. It also summed up that the government / RBI should allow a controlled interchange instead of zero MDR on QR code / UPI / RuPay Debit card transactions, as well as give tax incentives to merchants who accept payments through electronic mode. Further, Government should provide incentive schemes to ensure popularity of QR code transactions among consumers in the country.

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