PrivatBank has issued an updated version of the mobile payments application, Privat24 for iOS and Android, which has a "no-contact" feature that allows customers to perform banking transactions using a QR-code.
According to the bank, today customers of the smartphone version of the electronic bank can carry out contactless cash withdrawal transactions in PrivatBank's ATMs, enter the e-bank Privat24, and have access to some other transactions.
"In Privat24, customers can process contactless banking transactions using any, even the simplest, model of a camera-equipped smartphone," said Aleksander Vityaz, Deputy Chairman of the Board of PrivatBank. "Unlike NFC technology, contactless payments using a QR-code do not require the application of special equipment and the purchase of additional cards or labels."
To withdraw cash or pay a bill using a QR-code, it is enough to launch the application and take a picture of the QR-code from the ATM or the goods payment code. The application will identify the customer and offer him/her to select the card from which the funds will be collected. Then the user only needs to confirm payment with a password. This is at least twice as fast as the same transaction using a "live" plastic card. Leading banks already conduct ATM operations without the physical presence of a card, but PrivatBank was the first in the world to use the technology of operating with a QR-code.