Increasing adoption of digital payments has resulted in stiff competition within the industry. Non-bank payment players have become more aggressive, aiming to grow into full scale financial service providers.

The People's Bank of China has established an integrated system to connect banks, merchants, and retailers to facilitate increased transactions, which grew 74.5% to $913.5 trillion in 2015. With growing consumer spending, financial institutions in China have to step up to meet the needs of retail clients.

Globally, banks and non-banks are testing whether QR codes to merchants and consumers can provide a simple solution for payments.