In line with its long-term digital strategy, ABC Banking Corporation, the flagship banking arm of ABC Group, has officially launched the ABC Banking QR Pay on Wednesday 05th December 2018 at Trianon Convention Centre. Developed in close collaboration with UnionPay International, the ABC Banking QR Pay is a cardless, secured and QR Code-based payment solution.
The ABC Banking QR Pay, was successfully implemented at the end of November 2018 and in the first stage, it aims at providing local merchants with a convenient and simple payment acceptance solution for tourists coming from Mainland China and other parts of Asia, travelling with a UnionPay QR code-based digital wallet through their mobile phones. Moreover, and in view of providing full accessibility to the new service at most frequently visited Points of Sales (POS), ABC Banking Corporation has on boarded top-tier merchants. In the short-term, the bank looks at extending this payment service to local customers.
“QR Code payments are omnipresent in China and the transaction volumes via mobile payments methods are constantly reaching new heights. Nearly everything can be paid by using the QR payment method in China. Building on our strong partnership with UnionPay International, and in line with the vision of the government to grow tourist arrivals from China; our contribution as a local bank is to provide Chinese tourists with the same payment experience that they enjoy at home while doing their shopping in Mauritius,” says Mr Brian Ah-Chuen, Strategic Business Executive Director of ABC Banking Corporation.
He further adds that “it has been observed in other countries visited by Chinese tourists that the introduction of QR payment method has led to noticeable increase in the total amount spent during their stay.” In practice, the accredited merchants will generate a dynamic QR Code with the amount to be paid, and the Chinese tourist will in turn settle their bill by scanning the merchant’s QR Code with their mobile phone. Once the transaction is completed, both the merchant and the consumer receive a notification on their respective Mobile Apps, confirming the transaction. Moreover, through the Merchant app, merchants can check the transactions processed in real time and at the same occasion, eliminating paper transactions; thus, encouraging merchants to reduce their carbon footprint.
“With the increasingly closer ties between China and Mauritius, UnionPay International is committed to ensuring smooth cross-border payment between the two countries. To date, UnionPay is accepted at about all merchants in Mauritius. And based on this solid merchant acceptance foundation, we are rolling out innovative payment solutions, such as UnionPay QR code payment, to offer tailored payment services to the local businesses and customers, supporting the development of financial inclusion in Mauritius. ABC Banking Corporation is an intimate partner of us here, and we are very glad to launch the new solution together with ABC. In the future, we hope to deepen our collaboration to offer UnionPay innovative payment service to more business and customers.” states Mr Luping Zhang, General Manager of UnionPay International Africa Branch.
“The banking sector remains a very dynamic and challenging environment to operate in. The advent of digitalisation and the continuous development in Information Technology are shaping the future of banking in unimaginable ways. At ABC Banking Corporation, we recognise this and we are organising ourselves to adapt to the coming changes with the necessary commitment and investment in our system, infrastructure and people,” adds Mr Brian Ah-Chuen.
The bank, which celebrates this year its 8 years of existence, has also expressed its intention of launching a series of initiatives in the months to come, as part of its strategy of becoming a digital bank. The launch of the ABC Banking QR Pay has therefore unlocked the first level of the ABC Banking Corporation’s vision.