QR(Quick Response) code is a branch of matrix barcode and can be scanned by our smartphones to send information. And QR codes are the most pictures you can find in China
In China, QR codes are everywhere. People use QR codes to complete payments, authorizations, verifications and so on. You can find QR codes in supermarkets, stores, restaurants, etc. Even beggars also use QR codes to beg. It can be said that you can go everywhere with a smartphone. Wait, how about out of power?. Don’t worry, you can rent a portable power source. And because of its convenience, more and more Chinese start to stop carrying any cash or credit cards. Some young people even don’t have any cash.
With the popularization of QR codes, some new designs are created. The shared bike is widely promoted in China. People can scan the QR codes on the bikes to obtain temporary permission to ride it. This practice protects the environment while people also get exercises. Afterward, shared umbrella, shared KTV, shared automobile and so on are also developed in China.
With the perfection of usages of the QR code, Chinese users of mobile internet also increased rapidly. According to data, the population was increased by about 27 million in the last half year. And this growth situation will be continued for a long time in the future.
Source:
https://dragontrail.com/resources/blog/how-china-gave-new-life-to-the-qr-code
Cashless society is possible in the future since it’s not time yet. Even though the QR code is popularized very well in China, there also are some people not using it. Most of them are the poor and the elder. It’s hard to solve the problem since these people don’t really like to change and learn new stuff. I think it needs several years to upgrade the society. And the difference between the rich and the poor has enough time to make it less different although it isn’t caused by the QR code. The main users of the QR code are teenagers and their parents. As for the grandparents, only some of them are using the QR code. However, even people don’t use cash, cash will still exist. Probably it’s not used a lot in the society, but it’s necessary for the country.
source: http://www.sohu.com/a/146199925_328334
In China, there are two largest mobile platforms like Venmo that contain the most online population. Users can attach their credit cards to the platforms to transfer money. However, these two platforms don’t have all the services, so they cooperate with other companies to make sure there are enough services on their platform to retain users, such as movie tickets, food order, utility payments, online shopping, hotel reservation, taxi reservation, transportation tickets. Therefore, once using the platforms, users can do most of their payments on the platforms, which actually increases the consumptions and at least has some effects on economic development.
The phishing of QR code in China will lead to severe results based on the law since it is important to the economics of the country. If QR code loses credibility, it definitely will cause a huge bad impact on economics. Also, in case of cyber fraud, there are two modes of QR code payment. One is that users scan the code; however, this payment has one more security check to ask a problem: are you sure to pay this amount of money? And this payment works with approvements of password or fingerprint test on your phone. Another mode is that users are scanned. The two platforms also offer personal QR codes to their users. During payment, users can show their QR codes to the shop assistants to check out. This payment is less secure, but it only happens between seller and buyer, so it rarely has a problem. Also, this method is much faster than the other, users can save a lot of time during payment, which means this method is applied in the places which have large flows of people like convenience stores.
https://www.caixinglobal.com/2017-12-28/china-to-pump-up-security-of-popular-scan-and-pay-101190446.html
It’s really interesting to see how China is really moving forward at a fast pace when it comes to technology. This idea of QR code scanning reminds me of the “social credit system” China is implementing where people can build and break trust based on their behaviour in society. Habits such as bad driving, smoking, etc. can affect your score and a bad score has specific consequences. A bad score might mean you get banned from flying, your children get banned from good schools, they tamper with the speed of your internet, etc.
I think this relates to the idea of QR code scanning because it’s almost like humans in China are becoming their own “QR code” in a sense. You “scan” them to find out more about their social credit and how they score in society.
There was an episode of Black Mirror where a system like this took place. The episode is called “Nosedive” where basically people build their scores through their social interactions and when you see someone you can immediately see how they rank and basically decide who you want to interact with and who you don’t. Like the system in China, there are certain benefits and consequences that come with your score based on how good or bad it is. The girl in the episode takes her score very seriously and becomes desperate to get a good score, to the point where it becomes dangerous. So it’s really scary to think about how this system in China might play out and how it might affect the way people live their lives.
https://www.businessinsider.com/china-social-credit-system-punishments-and-rewards-explained-2018-4#2-throttling-your-internet-speeds-2
When you think about the future, you think about flying cars and hover-boards. Me personally, I thought about lightsabers and blasters, being the dork I am. So I understand more than anyone when someone watches Back to the Future and asks “Where are our hover-boards?”. After 20 years of waiting, I’ve come to the conclusion that the future isn’t disappointing, but rather, more subtle than we originally thought. Just take a look at the square of metal in your pocket. It has access to almost every database, almost every piece of information available to the human populace. Sure, we didn’t get flying cars, but we do have electric cars that can drive themselves, we have rockets that can be re-used and landed back on Earth. In the same way, digital payments and qr codes are the future. Everywhere you go in China, most places are cashless. Even some are cardless. Paying with the convenience of the phone in your hand is quickly becoming the norm. The final thing that seems we need to wait for is how long until this trend catches on to the rest of the world, and why is it so reluctant to embrace the future? One answer might be that the repercussions are not yet known by most people. For China there is a huge disparity between the rich and the poor, as cashless becomes the norm, those without access to smartphones get left behind. The question that remains now is can China’s economy continue to stay on this track and risk leaving its poor behind, and should the rest of the world follow suit?
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/11/china-cant-afford-a-cashless-society/
After reading this article, I have a few questions about this idea. If everyone in using these QR codes, how are banks still operating? Are banks offering a QR code within their mobile banking apps? Or is this an app that operates like Venmo? Are businesses losing money by converting to be able to accept this new form of payment? I am curious of the financial effects that is happening due to this new trend.
I am also curious of the security factor of these codes. While I am sure the actual security of the software is as good as any, I feel as though the physical security is not the best. The QR code is essentially a picture. If someone where to snap a picture of this, they would then in theory be able to pay with picture. I have used QR codes to open files before and was able to open it from a picture of the QR code. While you may say that someone could do the same thing with a credit card, they thief would need to be able to read the card number, name, expiration date, as well as the cvc code on the back. Being able to see all of this with out making the picture obvious would be extremely difficult.