Report: QR Code Payments Will Surpass $3 Trillion Globally by 2025

While QR codes have not gained much traction in the U.S. as a payment method, global adoption is rising significantly. A new report ($) from U.K.-based consultancy Juniper Research predicts $3 trillion worth of spending worldwide will happen using QR codes by 2025, up 25 percent from $2.4 trillion this year.

This confirms a trend spotted last year by Mastercard, which found that QR codes are gaining more acceptance, especially in developing markets. The payment method, which is often employed at the physical point of sale or in P2P payments and is classified by payment networks as a card-not-present payment, is increasingly considered a clean and convenient way to interact with merchants.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents (66 percent) in the Latin America and Caribbean region expect to use QR codes and other emerging technologies in the next year, the report said. In the Middle East and Africa, that number was 63 percent.

“The pandemic made us think differently, partly out of necessity,” said Craig Vosburg, chief product officer at Mastercard. “To deliver the choice and flexibility that consumers need—and increasingly expect—retailers worldwide need to offer a range of payment solutions that are easy to access and always on. As we look ahead, we need to continue to enable all choices, both in-store and online, to shape the fabric of commerce and make the digital economy work for everyone.”

The Juniper report said the top five payments providers supporting QR code payments globally are Alipay, PayPal, WeChat Pay, Google Pay and UnionPay International.