The Rise of QR Codes

Quick Response (QR) codes, tiny black-and-white squares, can be read at ten times the speed of traditional bar codes; hence they were called ‘Quick Response’ codes or QR codes for short. They are two-dimensional black and white barcodes that can reveal a URL (web address) or other information with a scanning device. The QR codes we know today were invented in 1994, almost 30 years ago, for inventory management and production control in Japanese auto manufacturing by an engineer named Masahiro Hara at the Denso Company. They are now widely used including for payments.

The development of QR codes was helped by the patent being made open source resulting in firms across Japan adopting and developing them. Approval of an international ISO standard for them in 2000 ensured widespread use internationally with the low cost of QR code systems also making them affordable for companies in developing countries for industrial and retail uses.