Digital payments in Hungary have just become easier, cheaper and faster with the ‘qvik’ instant payment service, which was launched by the central bank in September 2024.
Hungarian instant payments with qvik
Consumers are now able to pay via QR codes, near-field communication (NFC) technology, mobile app links and payment request approvals for online payments and at in-store sales registers.
The Hungarian National Bank’s aim is to offer a secure, competitive alternative to card payments.
At the same time, it mandated the country’s commercial banks to embed qvik functionality into their mobile banking applications.
“Raiffeisen Bank Hungary (RBHU) was well prepared for the regulatory change. We launched our Scan&Go mobile payment app four years ago, which now has more than 4000 customers using it,” said Gyula Molnár Head of Retail Payment Solutions, RBHU.
“Via the updated app, our customers can choose to pay instantly with QR codes and NFC technology using the local qvik instant transfer scheme via their Android-based mobile phones.”
While it’s currently optional for banks to provide merchants with qvik in addition to card acceptance, RBHU has already embedded this functionality into its Scan&Go app.
Only RBHU and OTP Bank are currently providing this payment method on the merchant side.
Through the Scan&Go app, merchants can send instant payment requests to customers from their point-of-sale (POS) devices. Once the qvik payment is made, they receive the money within five seconds instead of one to two working days.
Merchants also avoid interchange fees, which can reach 1.5% of the revenue from domestic card payments.
“The Scan&Go app, which incorporates our SoftPOS solution, allows merchants to manage both instant payment and card transactions on their mobile phone – there is no need for a separate POS terminal,” said Zoltán Krasznai, RBHU’s Head of Acquiring.
“The owner of a small café or shop, for example, can authorise any number of cashiers to download the app onto their mobile devices and securely process transactions without accessing bank account details.”
RBHU started developing this solution four years ago because the bank believed that such an innovative solution could truly benefit retailers, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic when consumers wanted to pay without card or cash contact.
With Scan&Go, the seller can generate a QR code with their terminal or mobile phone and then the buyer can place their device – without touching – close by. The buyer’s mobile phone reads the QR code and the payment is made.
“This payment method is also highly secure. When paying online with the instant payment system, for example, the buyer doesn’t have to enter their card details or PIN code; they just use the app to scan a QR code and make the transaction,” said Gergely Czimer, Head of Corporate Digital Sales at RBHU.
“While we rolled out Scan&Go in 2020, today it is even more important for merchants as all customers in Hungary can now use their mobile phones to pay at physical or online shops.”
To find out more about Scan&Go and other payment solutions in Hungary, visit our website.
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