Parking payment: 64 Shanghai malls put up 'clean QR codes'
A signboard reads "scan directly for payment" at Bailian Nanfang Shopping Mall in Minhang District.
A total of 64 shopping malls across Shanghai have put up "clean codes" for charging parking fees following a recent crackdown by local authorities on excessive collection of consumers' personal information.
The Shanghai Consumer Council said on Tuesday that 64 malls in the city, such as One ITC, BFC, Hopson One, Réel Mall, Jiuguang Department Store and Shanghai Tower, have posted signs of QR codes for payment of parking fees at obvious locations such as major channels, entrances and exits, and columns in their parking lots so far. It allows direct payment after people scan the code.
People can scan the QR code for payment with WeChat or Alipay at the TOUCH shopping mall as found on Tuesday.
The rectification came after the council in late July exposed that nearly half of the 140 shopping malls in the city inspected had privacy issues when consumers scanned QR codes to pay parking fees.
They were found to have required consumers to register for mandatory membership, or asked for personal information, including their names and cellphone numbers, when they scanned a code to pay the fees. Some were found to be tricking consumers into following their official WeChat accounts, and some even required consumers to provide WeChat and Alipay information.
Scan the code for direct payment of parking fees at Bailian Nanfang in Minhang District.
On Tuesday, a guideline released by the consumer council to regulate parking fee payment at shopping malls came into effect, asking operators to offer simple and clear QR codes that allow consumers to pay parking fees directly.
They are banned from forcing or tricking consumers into membership or following WeChat account in any forms, according to the guideline.
A sign posted on a parking lot column allowing payment via Alipay after scanning the code at TOUCH.
On Tuesday afternoon, Shanghai Daily found that the QR code posted at the parking lot of TOUCH, a shopping mall in Xuhui District, had been updated.
After scanning the code, the page for license plate input popped up, allowing direct payment.
"In the past, I needed to follow the official WeChat accounts of quite a number of malls in the city first, and sometimes even compulsory memberships, and then look for the section of parking fee payment on the account, which was both troublesome and unnecessary," said Li Yong, a driver at the mall. "I thought it infringed on my privacy."
"I had to tick agreement on all information requirement to save time, but it was absolutely unreasonable and unnecessary," he said. "The page is much friendly now and it only took a few seconds for payment."
Consumers need to input their car license number after scanning a code at TOUCH to pay the parking fee.
The council said it would conduct undercover investigations from time to time to follow up the implementation.
It is part of the council's efforts to combat excessive collection of private information following the scenarios in restaurants and coffee shops that also need rectified use of digital technologies.
