Want to make an offering to God? Scan the QR code!

Courtesy: Federal Bank

If one can pay for goods and services by scanning a QR code, why can’t devotees make donations at places of worship in the same way?

Kerala-based Federal Bank offers devotees at various places of worship a facility to make such online donations by simply scanning a QR code. And this channel is becoming popular.

QR – or quick response – codes facilitate cashless transactions and immediate money transfers through apps on mobile devices. This form of contactless, digital payments became popular during the pandemic for a range of transactions.

Federal Bank has set up QR code facilities at various places of worship across the country, said an official at the lender who didn’t want to be identified.

“We have been offering QR-based payments for more than one year,” the official said. “QR-based payment is an extension of the online offering facility.”

QR booths have replaced boxes that used to be kept to collect currency notes and coins as donations. In November 2022, Federal Bank installed an e-hundi (e-donation) facility at Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple near Kochi.

The QR codes at these places of worship are linked to their accounts with Federal Bank. The same code was available earlier for devotees to offer archana (an offering to God), to book slots to visit during the pandemic, and to obtain information about the religious place.

So why do houses of worship want QR code booths?

To begin with, convenience. It’s easy for a place of worship to get a QR code generated and make it available to those who wish to make payments. There is no need to share bank account details. Money transfers through this route are quick and can be done at any time.

Then there’s safety. The bank can secure the QR code of the place of worship to prevent others from displaying their QR codes to get funds from devotees.

Record numbers

Transactions on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a major QR code payment platform, touched a record Rs 12.82 lakh crore in December 2022. During the month, 782 crore transactions were carried out on the platform, which was launched in 2016.

Given the level of popularity of QR codes and UPI transactions, banks clearly do not want to miss out on any opportunity for the public to use this digital payment facility.