‘QR Code’ is a registered trademark of DENSO WAVE.
EMV® QR Code Specifications support consistent, efficient and convenient QR code payments.
EMV® QR Code Specifications support consistent, efficient and convenient QR code payments.
QR codes are increasingly used for touchless payments. EMV QR Code technology enables merchants to provide their customers with a wide range of payment options using one QR code at checkout.
The EMV QR Code Specifications provide a standardised template for the generation of QR codes that will work consistently everywhere to deliver convenient and reliable card and account-based payments.
EMVCo maintains the EMV QR Code Specifications, supporting self-evaluation tools, and EMV QR Marks.
EMV QR Codes work the same way, wherever they are used, to support consistent and reliable payments for both merchants and consumers.
Merchants can use one QR code at checkout to accept multiple payment types and support loyalty and reward programmes.
Consumers can use their preferred payment type via QR code for fast and convenient checkout.
QR – or Quick Response – Codes are ISO 18004-compliant encoding and visualisations of data. They are essentially two-dimensional machine-readable barcodes. QR Codes store data – such as a web address – using black and white squares which can be read by smartphones or other barcode readers. Scanning one of these barcodes with a smartphone camera or barcode reader connects the scanning device to the information stored within the code.
The EMV QR Code Specifications standardise the data format of QR codes for payments to simplify and broaden the acceptance of QR code payments globally.
EMV QR Code Specifications address the QR Code itself and the way the data is coded into the QR code. The specific messaging after reading and processing are left to the payment providers.
The EMV QR Code Specifications comprise two separate specifications that support two types of QR code payments: consumer-presented mode (CPM) and merchant-presented mode (MPM). These support multiple different domestic and international payment options through a single QR code.
In a consumer-presented mode QR code payment, the consumer displays the QR code on mobile phone and the merchant uses an optical scanner (or a mobile device) to scan the QR code.
In a merchant-presented mode QR code payment, the merchant displays the QR code, and the consumer uses their mobile device to scan the QR code.
The EMV QR Code Specifications offer predefined data field options for implementers to use. They can be adapted as needed to enable account-based payment as well as card-based payment, including URL based QR processes.
This increases the interoperability, efficiency and flexibility of QR Code deployments based upon the EMV Specification. It also increases choice and participation for all parties and can work in any marketplace in this way.
To promote global interoperability awareness across EMV QR Code payments, EMVCo has created the EMV QR Payment Mark and EMV QR Scan Icon for consistency – collectively referred to as the QR Marks. EMVCo has developed reproduction requirements and a royalty-free license agreement to enable all implementers of EMV QR Code solutions to use the respective Marks.
The QR Payment Mark may be used to inform consumers that a merchant accepts EMV QR Code payment solutions. Supplemental messaging to consumers will confirm whether merchant-presented transactions, consumer-presented transactions, or both, are supported. The QR Payment Mark may also be used for in-app purchases on a mobile device to click and generate a consumer-presented QR Code.
The QR Scan Icon may be used for in-app purchases on mobile devices, to indicate that the consumer may scan a merchant-presented QR Code. The QR Scan Icon may not be used as an acceptance mark at point of sale for consumer-presented or merchant-presented transactions.
A royalty-free trademark license agreement and reproduction requirements are available in EMVCo’s Trademark Centre.
QR Codes are a general purpose machine readable data format which can read by a camera. QR Codes are used in a wide variety of applications across many domains, including directing users to a shopping or information website, product identification, asset tracking and more. The EMV QR Code Specifications on the other hand are domain specific. They define an interoperable format for communicating data required for payments to occur. For example, a consumer initiates payment from a Mobile application, such as a banking app or a third-party provided payment app, by presenting a QR Code (consumer presented QR) or scanning a QR Code (merchant presented QR).
The EMV Merchant Presented QR Code Specification defines an interoperable and domain-specific format for communicating the data from the merchant to the consumer in a structured manner to initiate a payment; such data is payment specific and does not have a general purpose, unlike a uniform resource locator (URL). Consequently, a specific mobile app is generally required to process the information in the EMV QR Code and to conduct the payment itself. A generic QR Code reader such as the mobile operating system provided camera application is generally not usable with the EMV Merchant Presented QR Code Specification. In Merchant-Presented mode, the Mobile application/wallet reads and parses QR Code payload which is compliant with the specification, and sends the transaction initiation request to the Network.
This guide is for any stakeholder using the EMV QR Payment Mark and EMV QR Scan Icon. Best practice use cases are detailed to demonstrate how each of the marks should best be used in both consumer-presented and merchant-presented scenarios.
This document includes the requirements for use of the EMV QR Payment Mark for point-of-sale acceptance, on mobile phones for in-app consumer presented payments, other payment and non-payment form factors, and within supporting marketing collateral.
This document includes the guidelines for in-app use of the QR Scan Icon to initiate a merchant presented QR code for a consumer scan transaction on mobile phones, other payment and non-payment form factors, and within supporting marketing collateral.
The QR Payment Mark is for use at the point-of-sale to signal to consumers that a merchant accepts EMV QR Code payments.
The QR Scan Icon is for use in-app on mobile devices to indicate that consumers may scan a merchant-presented QR Code.
‘QR Code’ is a registered trademark of DENSO WAVE.
More than a hundred organisations – including merchants, issuers, acquirers, payment networks, financial institutions, manufacturers, technology providers and testing laboratories – contribute their knowledge and expertise to the development of EMV Specifications.
EMVCo Associates can contribute their knowledge and expertise to shape the development of EMV Specifications.
EMVCo Subscribers can receive notice of pending EMV Specification developments and participate in a formal dialogue with EMVCo.
All industry participants can review and provide comments on new EMV Specifications and major updates before final publication.
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