Pay with your vouchers and your bank account linked to Payconiq in one single scan
We all know the feeling: using meal vouchers to pay can sometimes lead to a touch of stress at the checkout. Is there still enough on your balance, or will you have to pay for some of it separately?
Well, we have good news for you: Bancontact Payconiq Company is introducing an easier way to pay using meal vouchers. Users of the Payconiq by Bancontact app – and soon also KBC Mobile, CBC Mobile and KBC Brussels Mobile – can now pay with their meal vouchers and their bank account linked to Payconiq in one single scan. And if the balance on their meal vouchers isn’t enough, the app automatically debits the remaining amount from the bank account – all in one go. Whereas, previously, there had to be two separate transactions.
“This innovative feature of the Payconiq by Bancontact app is unique in the market,” says Nathalie Vandepeute, CEO of Bancontact Payconiq Company. “It’s the first payment solution in Belgium that enables you to combine meal vouchers with another payment method (here Payconiq), all in one single action. This greatly simplifies the payment experience for both consumers and merchants.”
Two payments methods in one scan
The new, combined payment will be available initially at more than 3,000 merchants in Belgium, such as bakeries or coffee bars, which accept meal vouchers and which also offer Payconiq via a QR code on sticker or on their smartphone (thanks to the new application for merchants, Payconiq GO). At large retailers, such as supermarkets, making combined payments with meal vouchers and the linked bank account via Payconiq is not yet possible, but it’s a feature that’s planned for the future.
All consumers have to do is scan the Payconiq QR code at the participating merchant with the Payconiq by Bancontact app – it’s as easy as that! The amount that can be paid using meal vouchers appears automatically in the app (see illustration). Any amount that may be left over is then debited from the bank account linked in the app. This makes the payment process at the cash register both faster and more efficient, because both payment methods are combined into a single scan. Another useful feature is that products not eligible for payment using meal vouchers can still be paid for, via the same single QR code scan, straight out of the bank account linked to the app.
The function to pay with meal vouchers is automatically ticked in the app. This is practical, because it means you know immediately, with every Payconiq payment, whether any products are eligible for payment with meal vouchers. The option can always be unticked if the user prefers to pay the full amount from their bank account.
This new feature of combined payment with meal vouchers will also soon be available in KBC Mobile, CBC Mobile and KBC Brussels Mobile. In these banking apps, it is currently already possible to make standard payments with meal vouchers by scanning a Payconiq QR code.
MOBILE BENEFIT
In the meantime, users of the Payconiq by Bancontact app have been able to pay mobile using their meal vouchers for two years now and the use of this feature has increased significantly over that time. This comes as no surprise knowing that meal vouchers are Belgium’s favourite fringe benefit – and the meal voucher cards from Edenred, Monizze and Pluxee can be added as a payment method in the Payconiq by Bancontact app.
One big benefit of making mobile payments using meal vouchers is that the remaining balance is displayed in the app’s payment overview each time the vouchers are used. This information is not provided when you use a physical meal voucher card in-store.
The new “Mobile payment with meal vouchers and Payconiq” summarised:
-> If you have enough balance on your meal vouchers and you’re only buying food or drinks, you can automatically pay the full amount with your meal vouchers using the Payconiq by Bancontact app.
-> If the balance on your meal vouchers is lower than the amount to be paid, the remaining amount is paid through the bank account linked to the app.
-> If there are products in your shopping basket that you cannot pay for using meal vouchers and the merchant has already entered them at the cash register, then the split will be made for you automatically, in one single scan.
1 You can link your bank account in the Payconiq by Bancontact app if you are a customer of the following banks: Argenta, Axa Bank, Bank van Breda, Banque CPH, Banx, Belfius, Beobank, BNP Paribas Fortis, CBC Bank, Crelan, Fintro, Hello Bank!, ING, KBC Bank, KBC Brussels, Keytrade Bank and vdk bank