Date
2019/11/12
Hour
15:42
News Group
international-affairs
Iran is looking into a step-by-step integration of biometric payments and QR codes for better verification and to cut down on the number of daily card transactions, according to Mohammad Mehdi Sadeq, a senior banking executive quoted by the country’s IRNA agency, writes ParsToday
justify;line-height:16.2pt;background:white'>IRNA figures reveal 2.513 billion
card transactions took place in just a month, between August 23 and September
22, 2019, but the banks did not collect any fees.justify;line-height:16.2pt;background:white'>“Payment through biometric
methods like fingerprint is being planned and will be implemented in the
future,” said Sadeq. “It is estimated that using mobile phones for payments
would increase by 20-30 percent if the fee system is reformed.”justify;line-height:16.2pt;background:white'>According to the news source,
there are almost 7.7 million card readers spread across the country and
Iranians make a lot of payments with their debit cards, including for public
transportation tickets. Approximately five percent of the machines can read QR
codes, and the number is expected to rise to 20 percent by March next year. The
fee system would also be reanalyzed to promote the new payment process, but no
decision has been made yet.justify;line-height:16.2pt;background:white'>Iran is not the only country in
the region looking into biometric payments. Just last week, Pakistan announced it was integrating a
biometric payment solution with its financial assistance program to include
poor women. In December 2018, commercial banks in the country introduced biometric verification of
millions of account holders to stop corruption and money laundering activities.Related Posts