The National Bank of Belarus today unveiled KROK, a unified instant QR payment service. The system is scheduled to launch on July 1.
“We are in a period of profound transformation in payment systems. Speed, convenience and security of payments are no longer a competitive advantage — they are now a basic expectation.
Recognising this, we made a strategic decision to develop our own payment service that meets three key criteria: technological sovereignty, maximum speed, simplicity of transactions and unconditional security. KROK is one small step for users, but a major leap for our country’s payment infrastructure,” National Bank Chairman Raman Halouchanka said.
According to him, the service was developed in Belarus and takes into account the specifics of the country’s regulatory framework and the needs of Belarusian banks.
From July 1, the service will be available in selected stores in Minsk, Vitsyebsk, Homiel and Salihorsk, as well as in online stores. After the testing phase, major retail chains will roll it out across all of their outlets.
“Payments will not be processed through a bank card. They will be made directly from the customer’s bank account. This is very important. Many people may say that we already have Samsung Pay, Apple Pay and other applications. But whenever you make a payment with your phone, the transaction still goes through the bank card linked to that phone.
In our case, no card is involved — only the customer’s account. As we have explained, the service will initially be available through five mobile applications, and from December 1 through all mobile applications of Belarusian banks.
Importantly, we will later expand this service to other countries by signing agreements with states that already have QR payment systems. This will involve mutual integration. In other words, when a citizen travels to another country and, for example, bank cards do not work there, they will still be able to pay using the QR system.
Yes, it will require considerable effort on the part of the National Bank to reach agreements with those countries. Nevertheless, this is the most promising alternative to conventional bank cards. What does this mean for citizens? It gives them a choice. And when people have a choice, they always choose the best option. For our part, the National Bank and ERIP will do everything possible to make KROK the best payment system in the country, and we will continue to develop it actively.
For customers, it means real-time payments, convenience and, as I mentioned, the ability to send a payment link instead of looking for a bank card. If there is not enough money on your card, you can simply send a payment link to your husband, brother or sister, and they can complete the payment on your behalf, making it easier to access goods and services,” First Deputy Chairman of the National Bank Aliaksandr Yahorau explained.
He also described how the service will work.
“The basic scenario is this: you come to a store and say you want to pay using KROK. A QR code is generated based on your receipt. You scan the code with your phone, and all the information is displayed: the payment recipient, the amount and the store. You press ‘Pay’. Depending on the amount, you may or may not need to confirm the payment using a PIN code or your fingerprint on the phone. The payment is then completed.
There is also the reverse scenario. You say you want to pay with KROK. You generate a QR code on your phone, the store scans it with its scanner, and the money is automatically debited from your account,” he said.
