Reference

QR Code Payments

A technical guide to EMVCo QR Code standards, Merchant Presented and Consumer Presented modes, and the regional QR payment ecosystems powering PIX, PromptPay, UPI, PayNow, QRIS and more.

Regional QR Payment Systems

Most national QR schemes adopt EMVCo MPM as the base format and layer country-specific identifiers, settlement rails, and regulatory rules on top. A few (notably Alipay and WeChat Pay's original formats) are proprietary, though both now support EMVCo-compatible modes for cross-border interoperability.

🇧🇷

PIX

Brazil
EMVCo MPM
  • OperatorBanco Central do Brasil (BCB)
  • LaunchedNovember 2020
  • GUIDBR.GOV.BCB.PIX
  • Key typesCPF/CNPJ, phone, email, EVP (random key)
  • SettlementReal-time, 24/7, instant credit
  • CurrencyBRL (ISO 4217: 986)
  • Static fieldID 26, sub-field 01 = PIX key
  • DynamicID 26, sub-field 01 = HTTPS URL returning payload JSON

PIX has over 150 million registered keys and processes billions of transactions per month, making it the world's fastest-growing instant payment system.

🇹🇭

PromptPay

Thailand
EMVCo MPM
  • OperatorBank of Thailand (BOT)
  • Launched2017
  • GUIDA000000677010111
  • Key typesNational ID (13 digits), phone (country code + 10 digits), e-wallet ID
  • SettlementNear-real-time via ITMX rails
  • CurrencyTHB (ISO 4217: 764)
  • Cross-borderInterlinked with Singapore PayNow, Malaysia DuitNow
🇮🇳

UPI / BHIM

India
EMVCo MPM
  • OperatorNPCI (National Payments Corporation of India)
  • Launched2016
  • GUIDupi (registered in MAI)
  • Key typeVPA — Virtual Payment Address (user@bank)
  • QR fieldspa= (payee VPA), pn= (name), am= (amount), tr= (txID)
  • FormatBoth EMVCo and deep-link URI (upi://pay?pa=...)
  • SettlementReal-time IMPS rails, 24/7

UPI processes over 10 billion transactions per month and is expanding internationally via NPCI International partnerships (Singapore, UAE, France, UK).

🇸🇬

PayNow

Singapore
EMVCo MPM
  • OperatorAssociation of Banks in Singapore (ABS)
  • Launched2017 (P2P), 2018 (P2M)
  • GUIDSG.PAYNOW
  • Key typesNRIC/FIN, mobile (65+number), UEN (business)
  • SettlementReal-time via FAST (Fast And Secure Transfers)
  • Cross-borderLinked to PromptPay (TH), PayID (AU), UPI (IN), Malaysia DuitNow
🇮🇩

QRIS

Indonesia
EMVCo MPM
  • Stands forQuick Response Code Indonesian Standard
  • OperatorBank Indonesia (BI)
  • LaunchedJanuary 2020
  • GUIDID.CO.QRIS.WWW
  • UnificationMandated interoperability — one QR accepted by GoPay, OVO, Dana, LinkAja and all banks
  • CurrencyIDR (ISO 4217: 360)
🇲🇾

DuitNow QR

Malaysia
EMVCo MPM
  • OperatorPayments Network Malaysia (PayNet)
  • Launched2019
  • GUIDMY.MY.MEPS
  • Key typesIC number, army/police ID, passport, business ID, phone
  • Cross-borderLinked to PromptPay (TH), PayNow (SG)
🇨🇳

Alipay / WeChat Pay

China
Proprietary + EMVCo
  • OperatorsAnt Group (Alipay), Tencent (WeChat Pay)
  • DomesticProprietary QR format (closed-loop, pre-EMVCo)
  • InternationalEMVCo MPM-compatible for cross-border via Alipay+ / WeChat Pay Global
  • CPM modeConsumer shows dynamic QR; merchant scanner reads it (dominant domestic mode)
  • PBOC standardChina's central bank mandated a national QR standard (PBOC/EMVCo aligned) for domestic interoperability
🇪🇺

EPC QR / SEPA

Europe
EPC Standard
  • StandardEPC069-12 (European Payments Council QR)
  • FormatPlain-text structured string (not EMVCo TLV)
  • Use caseSEPA Credit Transfer initiation — invoice payment, not POS
  • FieldsBIC, IBAN, amount, creditor name, remittance info
  • CountriesGermany (GiroCode), Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, others
  • LimitationDesigned for bill payment, not instant retail checkout
Cross-border QR interoperability: The ASEAN region is leading global efforts to link national QR schemes. The ASEAN Payment Connectivity initiative has already linked PromptPay (TH), PayNow (SG), DuitNow (MY), and is expanding to Indonesia QRIS, Philippines InstaPay, and Vietnam NAPAS. EU is working on a SEPA Instant-based retail QR standard under the European Payments Initiative (EPI).

Try the QR Parser

Parse and build EMVCo QR strings with live CRC validation and field-by-field decoding.

📱 EMVCo QR Parser & Builder🔓 EMV TLV Decoder🔢 BCD / Hex Converter📡 NFC in Payments📋 Certification Levels