Why QR Payments Are Becoming Part of Global Commerce

A phone camera is replacing the payment terminal

A coffee shop in Manila prints a QR code beside the till instead of installing an expensive payment terminal. A street-food seller in Lagos accepts mobile payments through a laminated code taped to a cart. A creator in São Paulo adds a payment QR to a livestream while viewers tip instantly from their phones.

The shift is larger than convenience. QR payments are changing how people think about payment access itself.

For years, accepting digital payments usually meant applying for merchant accounts, buying hardware, waiting for bank approval, integrating processors and depending heavily on local banking infrastructure. QR payments simplified that model. A smartphone camera became the checkout layer.

That matters globally because many businesses now operate socially before they operate formally. Sellers start on Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, Telegram or marketplaces long before they build websites, install POS systems or negotiate merchant acquiring relationships.

Spondula is being built around that mobile-first direction: a global payments network where users can send, receive, hold, accept and participate through wallets and S-Handles. QR payments become part of the identity layer rather than an isolated merchant feature.

The idea is simple. A person, merchant or creator should be able to share a payment identity as easily as sharing a username.

Why QR payments spread faster than bank infrastructure

Traditional banking infrastructure expands slowly. Branches, terminals, merchant agreements and acquiring relationships take time to scale. QR systems spread differently because they reduce hardware dependency.

That is one reason QR payments expanded rapidly across parts of Asia, Latin America and Africa during the last decade.

In India, QR systems became deeply connected to the country’s digital payments ecosystem through UPI adoption. In China, QR-driven commerce became embedded into daily retail behaviour through platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay. In Kenya, mobile-first payment behaviour accelerated around M-Pesa. In Brazil, Pix reshaped expectations around instant payments.

The broader trend is global: people increasingly expect payments to work directly from smartphones.

“Consumers increasingly expect instant, mobile-first payment experiences across commerce and peer-to-peer activity.”

BIS CPMI, 2025

QR payments solve several problems simultaneously:

• lower setup costs
• reduced hardware dependency
• simpler onboarding
• faster customer interaction
• mobile-native checkout
• easier cross-border compatibility

For small merchants, freelancers and creator-led businesses, this matters operationally. Many businesses now begin as mobile-first businesses before becoming formally structured companies.

Why global creators and freelancers need simpler payment identity

A designer in Bengaluru may work with clients in London, Dubai and New York during the same week. A creator in Mexico City may receive support from audiences across the United States, Spain and Colombia. A remote worker in Karachi may rely on international clients for most monthly income.

The internet became global long before payment systems did.

Many global workers still depend heavily on PayPal withdrawals, SWIFT transfers, Payoneer payouts, Stripe settlement systems, marketplace wallets and bank conversion processes.