4 Reasons Why QR Codes Are Currently Making a Comeback

QR codes are currently experiencing a renaissance as an alternative to URLs. Two crucial things have changed since QR codes first made their debut on printed matter and were quickly adjudged by consumers to be a pointless marketing tool. First, consumers no longer have to download an app to scan a QR code – the cameras on most smartphones today support the format. Second, when you scan QR codes nowadays, you land on websites that have actually been optimized for mobile use.
 

Numerous social media companies utilize QR codes or similar techniques and are thus making them popular again. Snapchat has led the way in making scanning cool again. Snapcodes enable Snapchat users to easily add new friends in a flash. Pinterest has its Pincodes, Spotify allows you to scan songs, and even Twitter generates a QR code of a person’s user name on command. It’s arguably only a matter of time until QR codes also reappear on printed business cards.
 

Independent of NFC interfaces, QR codes are the driver of mobile payments worldwide. In Switzerland, they allow you to pay invoices since 30 June 2020 – thanks to the new QR-bill, which is going to continuously replace the current payment slips. Additional use scenarios for QR codes come into being with cryptocurrency transactions and cash withdrawals at the ATMs. And with TWINT’s QR code, you may pay in online shops, payment terminals, vending machines or even parking meters. All QR codes have one thing in common: Payments can be automated and therefore get simpler. No more tedious typing of account numbers, PINs or card numbers.
 

QR codes never entirely disappeared from the industry for which they were originally conceived: logistics. Where supply chains are starting to employ distributed ledger technology, QR codes look destined to become even more important for identifying and tracking goods. But QR codes will continue to leave traces on people, too – just think of flight or concert tickets.