Mobile payments introduced in all Colruyt supermarkets

Customers of Colruyt can now make mobile payments using a smartphone app in 470 supermarkets across the country, the company has announced.

The system uses the SEQR app available for Android, Apple and Windows phones and is already available in all the group’s stores, including Colruyt, OKay, Bio-Planet, Dreamland, Dreambaby and Cru. About 70 associated Spar supermarket franchises will join the system in the coming weeks.

Colruyt said it was encouraged by a test project in 20 stores, which saw customers make more than 10,000 transactions using the system. “The project started out brilliantly, and we are very satisfied with the first results,” said project manager Michel Van Mello. “In light of the benefits to the customer, we expect that mobile payment will gradually increase in popularity in the years to come.”

The payment application can also be linked to customer loyalty cards and other discounts, he explained. “In time, you could go shopping bringing only your smart phone and leave that wallet with cash, payment cards and customer loyalty cards at home.”

The SEQR app is free to download and must be coupled to a bank account once to begin operating. To make a payment, customers link to the local Colruyt Group wi-fi in the store, then scan a QR code at the checkout and verify the payment with a PIN code. The app keeps a tally of all spending.

According to Colruyt, the system is safe and easy and can be integrated into the existing checkout system without additional hardware. Transaction costs, the company said, are also lower than competing systems.

Photo courtesy Colruyt