QR codes have thrived in the pandemic, evidenced by Coinbase's Super Bowl ad last Sunday, which featured nothing but a bouncing QR code — and crashed the app because it was so popular.
The small square barcodes have seen a surge in usage around the world for important travel documents, COVID tracking or just to open up the menu at a now paperless restaurant. One Irish man even got a QR code inked on his arm - a personal link to whatever he wants it to be. But QR codes are hardly a new technology.
Don't call it a comeback
QR codes are actually almost 28 years old, invented by Japanese automotive company Denso Wave back in 1994 to streamline their manufacturing process.
Although their adoption was slow in western countries before the pandemic, they have long been used in Asia. In China, there's reportedly a QR code for just about everything, but they are most synonymous with payments. More than 90% of mobile payments in China are made on WeChat or AliPay, both of which rely on QR codes in some format.
