Survey: Four in ten US and UK consumers ready to use QR codes for payments

QR code being scanned by a customer with smartphone
QR PAYMENTS: MobileIron’s survey reveals that UK and US consumers are very positive about using QR codes

The popularity of QR codes has “skyrocketed” in the USA and UK this year, with 53% of consumers saying they want to see QR codes used more broadly in future and 43% that they plan to use a QR code as a payment method soon, a new survey has revealed.

Commissioned by mobile security provider MobileIron, the survey also found that 84% of respondents in the two countries have scanned a QR code before, with 32% having done so in the past week and 26% in the past month.

Over the course of the past six months, 38% of respondents have scanned a QR code at a restaurant, bar or café and 37% at a retailer, while 32% have scanned one on a consumer product.

When asked if QR codes make life easier, 64% of respondents said yes, while 47% stated that they have noticed an increase in QR code use during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In relation to security, however, the survey found that 71% of respondents cannot distinguish between a legitimate and a malicious QR code, although 67% said they were able to do so with a URL.

Just over half of the respondents (51%) said they have privacy, security, financial or other concerns about using QR codes but use them nevertheless, while 34% said they have no such concerns.

Some 2,100 US and UK consumers took part in the survey.

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