User Scan Method

The user scan method is a QR code payment approach where stores display a QR code at the register or on tables, and customers scan it with their payment app, enter the amount, and complete payment.

Because no dedicated payment terminal is required and equipment investment is close to zero, it is easily adopted by small businesses, street vendors, and flea markets. During the rapid spread of QR code payments in China and India, this method, which lets a store accept payment with nothing but a displayed code, was at the center of that adoption. On the other hand, since the customer enters the amount, there is a risk of mistyped digits or of an entry that is never completed. The counterpart is the "store scan method (CPM)", in which the store reads the QR code shown on the customer's smartphone.

To get started, the store signs a merchant agreement with a payment provider or payment service agency, prints the store-specific QR code it is issued, and displays it on a tabletop stand beside the register or on the tables. Since no reading device is needed, the only equipment required is the printed code plus a smartphone or tablet for checking payment results. The displayed code is fixed information that identifies the store, so day-to-day operation hinges on visually checking at opening time that the code has not been swapped out, and on fixing it in place so that it is not easily peeled off. Because the customer is the one entering the amount, making it a rule that staff confirm the payment-completed screen before handing over the goods prevents mistyped digits and customers leaving before payment finishes. Sales are reviewed in each payment provider's management console, and in a setup without POS integration, reconciliation against the register records remains a manual task. These characteristics suit mobile vendors and event stalls that have no register equipment, as well as restaurants that settle the bill at the table. Conversely, stores with high customer volume that need fast checkout turnover fit better with the store scan method, where the store does the reading.