This article originally appeared on ABACUS People in Beijing can now use QR codes as tickets across all subway lines, after 6 million passengers tried it during a trial over 20 days. They need to download an app called Ruubypay and connect it with either their bank account, Alipay, or JD Finance account. A QR code will be generated as you open the app, and by putting your phone near the QR code reader, it will let you pass through almost as fast as using an actual ticket. It could save a lot of time for passengers who forget to bring a metro card and have to queue up to buy a ticket. "At certain subway stations, it may take a rather long time to get a ticket. Sometimes, it can be up to twenty minutes. This way, it's so much easier," CCTV quotes a passenger as saying. Beijing’s subway already lets people pay on phones with NFC, which is how most mobile payment services (like Apple Pay) work in the rest of the world. But 70% of China’s internet users pay with their phones -- and it’s almost always done through QR codes. How the QR code conquered China Beijing's subway also says they’ll start trial of payment by facial recognition later this year . For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters , subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast , and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report . Also roam China Tech City , an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus .
