BharatQR code, a quick response (QR) code, was launched by the government on Monday to enable digital payments without card swiping machines. The launch comes on the back of the government’s efforts to make India a digital economy. This is the second big push after the government launched its e-wallet app BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) in December last year.

Here’s your cheatsheet to BharatQR:

• The BharatQR code will allow merchants to accept payments via debit/credit cards even if they don’t have a card-swiping machine.
• Customers can just scan the merchant’s QR code and make the payment via their banking app. The amount will be directly transferred to the vendor or the merchant’s bank account.
• Unlike transactions via PoS (point of sale) machines or card-swiping machines, customers don’t need to enter a PIN (personal identification number).
• The process is similar to how private payments firm Paytm’s QR transactions function. However, on platforms like Paytm, both the payer and the payee need to have an account.
• BharatQR is a common QR code jointly developed by card payment companies — MasterCard, Visa, American Express and National Payments Corporation of India, which runs RuPay cards.
• Besides the four major card companies’ platforms, BharatQR will also accept Aadhaar-enabled payments and Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
• The platform has been developed under the aegis of India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

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