India’s largest mobile payments and commerce platform, Paytm, on Saturday announced its plan to promote contactless food ordering and payments using the company’s new QR-code service. Restaurants will be able to use Paytm's new service as a white label product by using their own logo and brand colour on the QR card while the code can also be joined together into their own brand pamphlets, hoardings and signboards.

Paytm has approached more than 10 state governments to enable its ‘Scan to Order’ QR mode and wishes to reach all states in the next few days. The company is also hurling governments to make this food-ordering initiative an operational standard procedure for the re-opening of dine-in restaurants and takeaway points.

Earlier in April this year, Paytm had said it has developed a 'contactless in-store ordering' solution - 'Scan to Order' - to assist food establishments minimise physical contacts for menu, billing and cash transactions after these businesses open after the coronavirus lockdown.

Users at restaurants can scan the code to access the menu and place order from their phones and also make payments through Paytm wallet, UPI, net banking, cards etc. This will avoid the need to touch the menu card that could be unsanitised and will also minimise interaction with the servers.

In the first phase of launching the code, Paytm will tap over 1 lakh restaurants and roll out to the others gradually. 

The development has come days after the government had allowed the operation of restaurants, malls, hotels from June 8 across the country except for the containment zones after over two months of strict closure due to the coronavirus.

“We strongly believe that our contactless food ordering solution would not only help establishments get back to business but also save lives as the core idea of this innovative product is based on maintaining social distancing,” said Nikhil Saigal, Vice President, Paytm.