B of A' s Use of QR Codes Draws More to Mobile App

Bank of America, which is testing the use of QR codes for payment at five merchants and uses the same technology at the teller line, reports success in using the codes to enroll customers in its mobile banking app.

B of A has 13 million active mobile banking users overall, and "a significant number of downloads" stemmed from B of A's introduction of QR codes at the teller line in December, says Marc Warshawsky, senior vice president and mobile channel executive at B of A.

The Charlotte company would not disclose results from its payments test or the specific number of users who signed up by scanning a QR code.

"The overarching thought is that we continue to look at a variety of mobile payment technology," says Warshawsky.

B of A's mobile banking app supports remote deposit capture, person-to-person payments, BankAmeriDeals merchant rewards program, contactless payment functions and alerts.

"Customers are deriving a lot of value from mobile banking… which benefits the bank overall," says Warshawsky.

The top banks are working on numerous mobile payments initiatives as the mobile wallet race heats up.

Other banks are exploring the use of QR codes for mobile payments. The $600 million asset First Trade Union Bank today introduced FT Pay, an app that uses LevelUp's technology to support payments at the point of sale.