India and Nepal announced the first major trade deal of its kind. Both the nations have confirmed an agreement that will enable cross-border trade without the need to exchange any physical currency.

India & Nepal major trade deal: Indians can pay using QR codes in Nepal, UPI brands agreed to deal

When people enter Teeth, a bar in San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood, the bouncer gives them options. They can order food and drinks at the bar, he says, or they can order via a QR code.

Each table at Teeth has a card emblazoned with the code, a pixelated black-and-white square. Customers simply scan it with their phone camera to open a website for the online menu. Then they can input their credit card information to pay, all without touching a paper menu or interacting with a server.

A scene like this was a rarity 18 months ago, but not anymore. “In 13 years of bar ownership in San Francisco, I’ve never seen a sea change like this that brought the majority of customers into a new behavior so quickly,” said Ben Bleiman, Teeth’s owner.

QR codes — essentially a kind of bar code that allows transactions to be touchless — have emerged as a permanent tech fixture from the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants have adopted them en masse, retailers including CVS and Foot Locker have added them to checkout registers, and marketers have splashed them all over retail packaging, direct mail, billboards and TV advertisements.

But the spread of the codes has also let businesses integrate more tools for tracking, targeting and analytics, raising red flags for privacy experts. That’s because QR codes can store digital information such as when, where and how often a scan occurs. They can also open an app or a website that then tracks people’s personal information or requires them to input it.

As a result, QR codes have allowed some restaurants to build a database of their customers’ order histories and contact information. At retail chains, people may soon be confronted by personalized offers and incentives marketed within QR code payment systems.

“People don’t understand that when you use a QR code, it inserts the entire apparatus of online tracking between you and your meal,” said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union. “Suddenly your offline activity of sitting down for a meal has become part of the online advertising empire.”

QR codes may be new to many American shoppers, but they have been popular internationally for years. Invented in 1994 to streamline car manufacturing at a Japanese company, QR codes became widely used in China in recent years after being integrated into the AliPay and WeChat Pay digital payment apps.

In the United States, the technology was hampered by clumsy marketing, a lack of consumer understanding and the hassle of needing a special app to scan the codes, said Scott Stratten, who wrote the 2013 business book “QR Codes Kill Kittens” with his wife, Alison Stratten.

That has changed for two reasons, Scott Stratten said. In 2017, he said, Apple made it possible for the cameras in iPhones to recognize QR codes, spreading the technology more widely. Then came the “pandemic, and it’s amazing what a pandemic can make us do,” he said.

Half of all full-service restaurant operators in the United States have added QR code menus since the start of the pandemic, according to the National Restaurant Association. In May 2020, PayPal introduced QR code payments and has since added them at CVS, Nike, Foot Locker and around 1 million small businesses. Square, another digital payments firm, rolled out a QR code ordering system for restaurants and retailers in September.

Cheqout and Mr. Yum, two startups that sell technology for creating QR code menus at restaurants, also said the codes had brought advantages to businesses.

Restaurants that use QR code menus can save 30% to 50% on labor costs by reducing or eliminating the need for servers to take orders and collect payments, said Tom Sharon, a co-founder of Cheqout.

Digital menus also make it easier to persuade people to spend more with offers to add fries or substitute more expensive spirits in a cocktail, with photographs of menu items to make them more appealing, said Kim Teo, a Mr. Yum co-founder. Orders placed through the QR code menu also let Mr. Yum inform restaurants what items are selling, so they can add a menu section with the most popular items or highlight dishes they want to sell.

These increased digital abilities are what worry privacy experts. Mr. Yum, for instance, uses cookies in the digital menu to track a customer’s purchase history and gives restaurants access to that information, tied to the customer’s phone number and credit cards. It is piloting software in Australia so restaurants can offer people a “recommended to you” section based on their previous orders, Teo said.

QR codes “are an important first step toward making your experience in physical space outside of your home feel just like being tracked by Google on your screen,” said Lucy Bernholz, director of Stanford University’s Digital Civil Society Lab.

Teo said that each restaurant’s customer data was available only to that establishment and that Mr. Yum did not use the information to reach out to customers. It also does not sell the data to any third-party brokers, she said.

Cheqout collects only customers’ names, phone numbers and protected payment information, which it does not sell to third parties, Sharon said.

On a recent blustery evening at Teeth, customers shared mixed reviews of the QR code ordering system from Cheqout, which the bar had installed in August. Some said it was convenient, but added that they would prefer a traditional menu at a fine dining establishment.

“If you’re on a date and you’re whipping your phone out, it’s a distraction,” Daniela Sernich, 29, said.

Jonathan Brooner-Contreras, 26, said that QR code ordering was convenient but that he feared the technology would put him out of his job as a bartender at a different bar in the neighborhood.

“It’s like if a factory replaced all of its workers with robots,” he said. “People depend on those 40 hours.”

Regardless of customers’ feelings, Bleiman said Cheqout’s data showed that about half of Teeth’s orders — and as much as 65% during televised sports games — were coming through the QR code system.

“They may not like it,” he said in a text message. “But they’re doing it!”

When people enter Teeth, a bar in San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood, the bouncer gives them options. They can order food and drinks at the bar, he says, or they can order via a QR code.

When people enter Teeth, a bar in San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood, the bouncer gives them options. They can order food and drinks at the bar, he says, or they can order via a QR code. Each table at Teeth has a card emblazoned with the code, a pixelated black-and-white square. Customers simply scan it with their phone camera to open a website for the online menu. Then they can input their credit card information to pay, all without touching a paper menu or interacting with a server. A scene like this was a rarity 18 months ago, but not anymore. “In 13 years of bar ownership in San Francisco, I’ve never seen a sea change like this that brought the majority of customers into a new behavior so quickly,” said Ben Bleiman, Teeth’s owner. QR codes — essentially a kind of bar code that allows transactions to be touchless — have emerged as a permanent tech fixture from the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants have adopted them en masse, retailers including CVS and Foot Locker have added them to checkout registers, and marketers have splashed them all over retail packaging, direct mail, billboards and TV advertisements. But the spread of the codes has also let businesses integrate more tools for tracking, targeting and analytics, raising red flags for privacy experts. That’s because QR codes can store digital information such as when, where and how often a scan occurs. They can also open an app or a website that then tracks people’s personal information or requires them to input it. As a result, QR codes have allowed some restaurants to build a database of their customers’ order histories and contact information. At retail chains, people may soon be confronted by personalized offers and incentives marketed within QR code payment systems. “People don’t understand that when you use a QR code, it inserts the entire apparatus of online tracking between you and your meal,” said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union. “Suddenly your offline activity of sitting down for a meal has become part of the online advertising empire.” QR codes may be new to many American shoppers, but they have been popular internationally for years. Invented in 1994 to streamline car manufacturing at a Japanese company, QR codes became widely used in China in recent years after being integrated into the AliPay and WeChat Pay digital payment apps. In the United States, the technology was hampered by clumsy marketing, a lack of consumer understanding and the hassle of needing a special app to scan the codes, said Scott Stratten, who wrote the 2013 business book “QR Codes Kill Kittens” with his wife, Alison Stratten. That has changed for two reasons, Scott Stratten said. In 2017, he said, Apple made it possible for the cameras in iPhones to recognize QR codes, spreading the technology more widely. Then came the “pandemic, and it’s amazing what a pandemic can make us do,” he said. Half of all full-service restaurant operators in the United States have added QR code menus since the start of the pandemic, according to the National Restaurant Association. In May 2020, PayPal introduced QR code payments and has since added them at CVS, Nike, Foot Locker and around 1 million small businesses. Square, another digital payments firm, rolled out a QR code ordering system for restaurants and retailers in September. Cheqout and Mr. Yum, two startups that sell technology for creating QR code menus at restaurants, also said the codes had brought advantages to businesses. Restaurants that use QR code menus can save 30% to 50% on labor costs by reducing or eliminating the need for servers to take orders and collect payments, said Tom Sharon, a co-founder of Cheqout. Digital menus also make it easier to persuade people to spend more with offers to add fries or substitute more expensive spirits in a cocktail, with photographs of menu items to make them more appealing, said Kim Teo, a Mr. Yum co-founder. Orders placed through the QR code menu also let Mr. Yum inform restaurants what items are selling, so they can add a menu section with the most popular items or highlight dishes they want to sell. These increased digital abilities are what worry privacy experts. Mr. Yum, for instance, uses cookies in the digital menu to track a customer’s purchase history and gives restaurants access to that information, tied to the customer’s phone number and credit cards. It is piloting software in Australia so restaurants can offer people a “recommended to you” section based on their previous orders, Teo said. QR codes “are an important first step toward making your experience in physical space outside of your home feel just like being tracked by Google on your screen,” said Lucy Bernholz, director of Stanford University’s Digital Civil Society Lab. Teo said that each restaurant’s customer data was available only to that establishment and that Mr. Yum did not use the information to reach out to customers. It also does not sell the data to any third-party brokers, she said. Cheqout collects only customers’ names, phone numbers and protected payment information, which it does not sell to third parties, Sharon said. On a recent blustery evening at Teeth, customers shared mixed reviews of the QR code ordering system from Cheqout, which the bar had installed in August. Some said it was convenient, but added that they would prefer a traditional menu at a fine dining establishment. “If you’re on a date and you’re whipping your phone out, it’s a distraction,” Daniela Sernich, 29, said. Jonathan Brooner-Contreras, 26, said that QR code ordering was convenient but that he feared the technology would put him out of his job as a bartender at a different bar in the neighborhood. “It’s like if a factory replaced all of its workers with robots,” he said. “People depend on those 40 hours.” Regardless of customers’ feelings, Bleiman said Cheqout’s data showed that about half of Teeth’s orders — and as much as 65% during televised sports games — were coming through the QR code system. “They may not like it,” he said in a text message. “But they’re doing it!”

QR codes are here to stay. So is the tracking they allow.

China's President Xi Jinping has called for a ''global mechanism'' to use quick response (QR) codes for travelling internationally.

As per Jinping,&nbsp;"We need to further harmonise policies and standards and establish 'fast tracks' to facilitate the orderly flow of people.''

Jinping believes the QR&nbsp;codes will be utilised to help build up an explorer's health status.&nbsp;

<img alt="F" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="45782467-891c-40b5-a8df-cd220e979fa6" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/_115605363_gettyimages-1228761788.jpg" />

In picture: A Chinese man scanning a QR code to get his ticket outside an airport in China

However, Human Rights advocates caution that the codes could be utilised for "more extensive political checking and prohibition".&nbsp;

Xi offered the remarks at the G20 highest point, a web-based gathering of heads of state from the world's 20 biggest economies, which was facilitated by Saudi Arabia throughout the end of the week.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/saudi-arabia-crown-prince-proposes-two-g-20-summits-in-a-year-344734">Saudi Arabia Crown Prince proposes two G-20 summits in a year</a>

He said the codes could be utilized to perceive "health certificates based on nucleic acid test results", as indicated by a record distributed by the Chinese state news office Xinhua.&nbsp;

Xi didn't really expound on how the movement plan may function, or how intently it would be demonstrated on China's QR code applications, which have been utilized to help contain the infection on the territory.&nbsp;

"We trust more nations will join this component," he added.&nbsp;

QR codes are standardised identifications that can be perused by cell phones. Under the plan China has utilised since February, clients are given a traffic-signal style health status code, with a green code permitting somebody to travel uninhibitedly, and an orange or red code showing that they have to isolate for as long as about fourteen days.&nbsp;

The codes depend on a mix of enormous information and data presented by the clients themselves.&nbsp;

The innovation was created by monetary innovation goliath Ant Financial and is accessible through its principle application Alipay yet in addition on WeChat, which has a place with Alipay's rival Tencent.&nbsp;

Xi additionally required the re-opening of the worldwide economy, including reestablishing "worldwide and mechanical gracefully chains" and the "advancement of exchange of key clinical supplies".&nbsp;

Resuming travel paths stays a test for most nations, with spikes in the illness making it hard for specialists to lift travel limitations.&nbsp;

A movement bubble among Singapore and Hong Kong, for instance, was delayed right away before it was because of the start this end of the week because of an abrupt spike in cases in Hong Kong.&nbsp;

'Trojan Horse'&nbsp;

In a tweet, the leader head of Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth communicated an alert over&nbsp;Xi's proposition.&nbsp;

"An underlying spotlight on wellbeing could without much of a stretch become a Trojan Horse for more extensive political observing and avoidance," he said.&nbsp;

The city of Hangzhou has said it intends to make a perpetual rendition of the QR code-based programming, which would be utilized to allot residents an individual score dependent on their clinical history, wellbeing registration, and way of life propensities.&nbsp;

QR codes have been utilised diversely in Singapore and Australia, for contract following, with occupants utilizing them to look into and out of spots, they visit, including shopping centers, eateries, and their work environments.

China's President Xi Jinping has called for a ''global mechanism'' to use quick response (QR) codes for travelling internationally. As per Jinping, "We need to further harmonise policies and standards and establish 'fast tracks' to facilitate the orderly flow of people.

China's President Xi Jinping has called for a ''global mechanism'' to use quick response (QR) codes for travelling internationally. As per Jinping, "We need to further harmonise policies and standards and establish 'fast tracks' to facilitate the orderly flow of people.'' Jinping believes the QR codes will be utilised to help build up an explorer's health status. In picture: A Chinese man scanning a QR code to get his ticket outside an airport in China However, Human Rights advocates caution that the codes could be utilised for "more extensive political checking and prohibition". Xi offered the remarks at the G20 highest point, a web-based gathering of heads of state from the world's 20 biggest economies, which was facilitated by Saudi Arabia throughout the end of the week. Also read: Saudi Arabia Crown Prince proposes two G-20 summits in a year He said the codes could be utilized to perceive "health certificates based on nucleic acid test results", as indicated by a record distributed by the Chinese state news office Xinhua. Xi didn't really expound on how the movement plan may function, or how intently it would be demonstrated on China's QR code applications, which have been utilized to help contain the infection on the territory. "We trust more nations will join this component," he added. QR codes are standardised identifications that can be perused by cell phones. Under the plan China has utilised since February, clients are given a traffic-signal style health status code, with a green code permitting somebody to travel uninhibitedly, and an orange or red code showing that they have to isolate for as long as about fourteen days. The codes depend on a mix of enormous information and data presented by the clients themselves. The innovation was created by monetary innovation goliath Ant Financial and is accessible through its principle application Alipay yet in addition on WeChat, which has a place with Alipay's rival Tencent. Xi additionally required the re-opening of the worldwide economy, including reestablishing "worldwide and mechanical gracefully chains" and the "advancement of exchange of key clinical supplies". Resuming travel paths stays a test for most nations, with spikes in the illness making it hard for specialists to lift travel limitations. A movement bubble among Singapore and Hong Kong, for instance, was delayed right away before it was because of the start this end of the week because of an abrupt spike in cases in Hong Kong. 'Trojan Horse' In a tweet, the leader head of Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth communicated an alert over Xi's proposition. "An underlying spotlight on wellbeing could without much of a stretch become a Trojan Horse for more extensive political observing and avoidance," he said. The city of Hangzhou has said it intends to make a perpetual rendition of the QR code-based programming, which would be utilized to allot residents an individual score dependent on their clinical history, wellbeing registration, and way of life propensities. QR codes have been utilised diversely in Singapore and Australia, for contract following, with occupants utilizing them to look into and out of spots, they visit, including shopping centers, eateries, and their work environments.

Chinese President Xi Jinping pushes for QR code based global travel system

Chinese bamboo weaving master makes bamboo QR code

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India & Nepal major trade deal: Indians can pay using QR codes in Nepal, UPI brands agreed to deal

QR codes are here to stay. So is the tracking they allow.

Chinese President Xi Jinping pushes for QR code based global travel system

Chinese bamboo weaving master makes bamboo QR code