QR code payment is a transaction started by scanning a two-dimensional barcode with a phone, where the code carries the merchant's account or identifier and often the amount and a reference; the money then moves over a bank transfer rail, a wallet ledger or a card network. In merchant-presented mode the customer scans the shop's code, either a static sticker or a dynamic code generated per sale with the exact amount; in consumer-presented mode the cashier scans the customer's app. Schemes such as UPI, Pix and PromptPay run on real-time account-to-account transfers, with instant finality, no chargeback right and fees well below card acquiring. Fraudulent stickers placed over static codes are the main risk.
What is QR code payment, and who shows the code
There are two modes. In merchant-presented mode the shop displays the code, and the customer scans it with a banking or wallet app. In consumer-presented mode the customer's app generates a code and the cashier's scanner reads it, which is how Alipay and WeChat Pay usually work at large retailers.
Merchant-presented codes are either static or dynamic. A static code is a printed sticker containing only the merchant's identifier; the customer types the amount. A dynamic code is generated for each sale and embeds the exact amount and an order reference, so reconciliation needs no manual matching.
How do QR payments work
A dynamic flow at a café: the terminal requests a code from the provider for €4.20 with reference 8831, displays it, the customer scans, approves in their app with biometrics, and the provider sends a confirmation to the terminal within a couple of seconds. The code itself carries no money or credentials, only instructions.
EMVCo publishes a common format for merchant-presented codes, which lets one sticker be read by apps from several schemes. National schemes such as India's UPI, Brazil's Pix and Thailand's PromptPay build on real-time account-to-account transfers, and that is where QR payments reach their largest volumes.
QR code payment processing and settlement
Processing depends on what sits behind the code. On an instant A2A rail the merchant is credited in seconds and the transaction is final, with no chargeback right. On a closed wallet, both parties hold balances with the same provider, and the transfer is a ledger entry, settled to the merchant's bank later. Where the code triggers a card payment, the normal card authorization, clearing and interchange apply.
Fees are the commercial pull. Merchant pricing on account-based QR schemes is often a fraction of card acquiring, and Pix person-to-merchant transfers are among the cheapest in any major market.
Risks, and how QR differs from contactless
The main fraud vector is substitution: a criminal sticks a fraudulent static code over the genuine one, and payments flow to the wrong account. Dynamic codes and payee-name confirmation in the app reduce it.
Unlike a tap-based proximity payment, a QR payment needs no NFC hardware at the merchant, which is why it spread first in markets where card terminals were scarce. It is typically classed as an alternative payment method in acquiring contracts and checkout reports.