QR Codes are square, black-and-white-patterned designs that are capable of being scanned and downloaded by smart phones that have been enabled with a QR Code-reading application. Such codes may be carried around in such phones, printed out in correspondence, and otherwise transferred by smart phones and computers around the world.
From such codes, a computer may download such information as application forms that otherwise have to be sent by post, or forwarded as pdf attachments in an email, according to Richard Leeson, sales and marketing director for Axa Wealth International.
What is more, he says, the material the QR Code provides advisers or their clients may be updated without having to update the code – for example, the QR Code that links to the application form currently used by one of Axa Wealth International’s products will always link to the latest version of that form, even if it has been updated.
This, Leeson explains, is why it is better than the old technology of, say, pdfs of application forms, or printed versions of such forms kept on shelves in an office somewhere.
"We are starting with Axa Wealth International’s full product library", consisting of more than 60 pieces of literature," Leeson added.
"This is the first stage. But in the future we may use the technology for other things, such as conducting research."
An A5-sized booklet containing all of the Axa Wealth QR Code product library is currently available to advisers, according to Leeson.