GoDaddy app offers mobile QR code payments

GoDaddy is offering a way to streamline payments for small businesses, both in e-commerce and in person, with QR codes for on-the-go transactions, a press release announced Tuesday, February 15.

The release says the service would be ideal for small businesses, such as farmer’s market vendors who don’t want to invest in a point-of-sale (POS) device.

GoDaddy Payments will generate a unique QR code on the business owner’s smartphone, which the customer scans on their phone to complete the transaction. QR codes are personalized for better security and expire when the transaction is completed.

Activist investor Starboard recently took a stake in GoDaddy, PYMNTS wrote, as the website builder seeks to expand its payment offerings.

Read more: Starboard Takes Stake in GoDaddy as Web Builder Shines a Light on Payments

It’s unclear what Starboard wants to do with GoDaddy, but the hedge fund usually demands performance – apparently Starboard also wants a seat on the board.

GoDaddy has remained a website builder since its launch in 1997, but it’s now a bigger operation, offering businesses of all sizes everything from a basic digital storefront to selling in other markets. .

The company’s $320 million acquisition of Poynt, an omnicommerce platform, will go along with that. Poynt enables merchants to sell and accept payments anywhere with its suite of products. Poynt, last year, had been used by over 100,000 merchants.

GoDaddy has bought around 27 companies, according to reports – one of them was Sellbrite in 2019. Sellbrite connects merchants to digital marketplaces and social media.