Today’s post is on a brief release in PaymentsSource about a Turkish bank Garanti BBVA, the second largest bank in Turkey with about $85 billion in assets (which is roughly the size of BBVA USA). The bank has extended the use of its mobile bank app to business customers (Garanti BBVA Corporate Mobile), with specific reference to the QR code-based payments capability.
‘Garanti BBVA is turning to QR codes in an attempt to speed up and simplify business transactions…Money transfers through the code are designed to occur in seconds, and can be shared with any individual or company through the Garanti BBVA Corporate Mobile app. The money transfers can be made without entering an IBAN number.’
We have written a bit about QR code payments—including a recent Viewpoint in our Credit Advisory Service—which have gained generally wide adoption in various global markets (most notably in India and China). The U.S. market has not utilized the technology to any noticeable degree, although some adoption is occurring for tourist preferences.
The referenced announcement suggests that Garanti BBVA client companies can adopt the payment capabilities, which can then be used to pay for business expenses (or receive payments) where available and as necessary. We assume this is mostly a small business play, since larger corporate will typically utilize centrally billed commercial credit (or debit) cards to manage travel and office expenses. The news release also indicates that the transportation system in Istanbul accepts refills to their travel card from the mobile app as well, which certainly provides utility.
“At Garanti BBVA, we continue to implement innovations to make our customers’ lives easier,” Didem Dincer Baser, the bank’s executive vice president, said in a Thursday press release. “Consumer customers have been able to use QR codes for cash withdrawals, deposits and transfers, and we have now rolled this functionality out to corporate clients.”
There has been generally limited adoption (or demand) for commercial mobile payment capabilities, although certain markets have more robust use of ‘tap and go’ capabilities. We expect this to change during the next couple of years, and QR codes look like they will be part of that trend.
Overview by Steve Murphy, Director, Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group