IT cluster resident PayQR has developed an app for mobile phones for paying housing and public utilities bills - and even traffic fines – from the comfort of the home. The program is available on iOS and Android platforms.
In September, a new national standard of QR code payments came into operation in the Russian Federation. This standard was implemented by Sberbank in cooperation with non-profit partnership “National Payments Council” and was rubber-stamped by the Federal Agency on Technical Regulating and Metrology, paving the way for the state-of-the-art system to be used nationwide.
“PayQR service will solve two specific problems of taxpayers. It can save money and time. To my mind, the main feature of the PayQR service is to make an unpleasant process of payment convenient and secure as much as possible,” said Pavel Novikov, a lead manager of the cluster’s Cloud&FinTech department.
A QR code is a square black image that contains encrypted and often personalized information. Smartphones can read the QR codes with their built-in cameras and help the user pay their bills without needing to go to the bank - and without commission.
Russian residents will now be sent bills for housing and public utilities bills, as well as fines for traffic violations, with a QR code that gives them the option to pay instantly through their smartphone or tablet. The scheme has already begun in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, and elsewhere. By 2018, more than 90 percent of bills nationwide should contain a QR code.
The process itself is simple: Residents should download the application from Google Play or the AppStore, run it, take a scan of QR code (point the camera of smartphone on it), choose a bank card and confirm payment. A user can receive email confirmation of payment.
“We can say that now nearly 70 percent of St. Petersburg apartment houses are in the service zone of the new technology,” said Alexander Loktionov, a development department supervisor at the Russian government utilities agency.
According to a general manager of PayQR project Gleb Markov, QR code payments are widespread in Europe, a trend noticed by the Russian government.
Company representatives previously stated that the goal for this year is to achieve a customer base of 1 million active users of PayQR application.
PayQR does not take commission fees from organizations or end users.
“For company, the project is non-profit, it focuses on the development of this branch of economy in Russia,” said Markov.
PayQR became a Skolkovo resident in February.
“By virtue of the correctly chosen niche and the professional team, PayQR was awarded the status of Skolkovo resident at the beginning of this year and has successfully implemented a project in Russia and, in the future, will do so in foreign markets,” said Skolkovo’s Novikov.
Skolkovo PR and Communications Department assistant Kyuder Tsedenov contributed to this article.