The matrix, decoded: How QR codes are transforming payments in India

QR code, the little pixelated square, has changed how India pays or accesses information. Its applications are only limited by imagination

Last month, a video shared on Instagram showing a quick-response (QR) code embedded on a tombstone at a cemetery in Kerala went viral. Upon scanning the code, a website pops up, directing to a page that provides information about the person, including what he did, and family details of the deceased! 

That may not have been the application QR code’s Japanese founder had in mind when he was looking for a better alternative to barcodes in manufacturing setups. But today, if there is a ubiquitous face of the digital world, it could well be a pixelated one: the QR code.