Strengthening its position in the Saudi Arabian market, HPS has been appointed by Saudi Payments, a fully-owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority (SAMA), to provide a unified QR code platform across the market.
In a bid to reduce the reliance on cash, the QR code platform will enable banks, wallet providers and fintech companies to interact seamlessly within an interoperable platform.
HPS hopes that the introduction of QR codes will be key in ‘providing a universally consistent experience for both merchants and consumers’, and will ensure ‘interoperability and acceptance of secure payments’.
By rolling out the QR code platform, HRP has revealed that the ultimate goal is to develop an integrated payment environment that allows all parties to benefit in an open-loop payment environment based on the latest messaging standards, ISO 20022.
It means merchants, individual customers, and service providers will be linked together to complete payments using the same code regardless of the service provider or scheme.
Merchants will be able to request payments from customers via a QR code, with the customer able to verify or reject the payment request. The system will be operable across a number of different payment types, with information able to be fixed in a static QR code and used for multiple transactions.
Alternatively, the system can be used in a dynamic QR Code which can be used for individual transactions.
The development of a national QR code payment system is in line with the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP) initiatives on digital transformation, entrepreneurship support, and financial technology development.
The ultimate aim of the FSDP is to meet the aspirations of Vision 2030 and a cashless society.
