QR Code payments to reach $3 trillion globally by 2025

A new study from Juniper Research has predicted that the global spend using QR code payments will reach over $3 trillion by 2025; rising from $2.4 trillion in 2022.

This growth of 25% will be driven by the increasing focus on improving the level of financial inclusion in developing regions and providing alternatives to established payment methods in developed regions.

The new research, QR Code Payments: Key Opportunities, Competitor Leaderboard & Marketing Forecasts 2022-2026, identified combined loyalty and payment services via a single QR code as a key strategy for increasing adoption.

It predicts that loyalty schemes will encourage repeat use and foster consumer trust in QR codes for payments.

Alipay Tops Juniper Research Competitor Leaderboard

The research reviewed the top 15 QR code payments vendors in the market and evaluated the key factors that led to their respective success. The top 5 vendors were ranked as below:

1. Alipay
2. PayPal
3. WeChat Pay
4. Google Pay
5. UnionPay International

Juniper Research has ranked Alipay as the leader in QR code payments, having built upon its early‑mover advantage to create a portfolio of strong features, including loyalty schemes, online payments, and a food delivery service in the QR space.

The report suggests that competitors emulate Alipay’s strategy to create a valuable ecosystem that revolves around QR code payments capabilities, such as loyalty schemes.

National Schemes to Boost QR Growth

The report found that the prospects for adoption and growth are stronger in markets with national schemes in place, due to incentives that promote ease of use for consumers; with increased interoperability being a major enabling factor.

In particular, the research found that in India, the transaction value of QR code payments will increase from $62 billion in 2022, to $125 billion in 2026, driven by its national QR code standard and reduced cash usage.

“Accordingly, we recommend that vendors looking to expand internationally focus on markets with established national schemes.” the report said.

Ghana for instance, as a national scheme dubbed GHQR, which is currently being rolled out by a number of private entities, particularly Hubtel, under the name of myghqr, and it is linked to both mobile money wallets and bank accounts.

For more insights, download the free whitepaper: How a Shift to Cashless Societies Is Driving QR Code Payments