What Are QR Code Payments?
A QR code payment is a transaction where a buyer scans a Quick Response (QR) code with their smartphone to initiate a transfer of funds. The code encodes payment details like the merchant's account, transaction amount, or a link to a payment page, replacing the need for card terminals, cash, or manual bank transfers.
Global QR code payment transactions are projected to reach $3 trillion (USD) in 2025, with Asia-Pacific accounting for over 60% of volume (Source: Juniper Research). Many of the world's fastest-growing payment rails use QR codes as their primary interface, including Pix in Brazil, UPI in India, and PromptPay in Thailand.
How do QR code payments work?
A QR code payment follows four steps:
- The merchant displays a QR code (printed, on a screen, or generated by a POS device)
- The customer scans it using a banking app, digital wallet, or their phone's camera
- The app decodes the payment details and the customer confirms the amount
- The payment is processed through the underlying payment network and both parties receive confirmation
Who scans whom depends on the mode. In merchant-presented mode, the merchant displays the code and the customer scans it. In consumer-presented mode, the customer generates a code on their phone and the merchant scans it with a reader or POS terminal. Both modes are defined by the EMVCo QR Code Specifications, the global standard for interoperable QR payments.
What is the difference between static and dynamic QR codes?
Static QR codes contain fixed information, typically the merchant's account details. The same printed code is reused for every transaction, and the customer enters the payment amount manually. They are cheap to deploy (just print and display) and common among small vendors, street markets, and kiosks.
Dynamic QR codes are generated in real time for each transaction. They include the exact payment amount, an order ID, and a timestamp, so the customer only needs to confirm rather than type anything. Dynamic codes are more secure because they expire after use and can't be swapped or reused. Most POS-integrated and e-commerce QR payment systems use dynamic codes.
Dynamic codes account for roughly 64% of the QR code payment market (Source: Grand View Research).
Which countries use QR code payments?
QR code payments are most widely adopted in Asia-Pacific and Latin America, often built into national instant payment systems:
- China: Alipay and WeChat Pay process the majority of retail transactions via QR. Roughly 90% of retailers accept QR payments
- India: UPI processed over 10 billion monthly transactions in 2025, with QR codes as the primary point-of-sale interface. Over 670 million active merchant QR codes are deployed
- Brazil: Pix uses QR codes as its default payment initiation method. It processed 42 billion transactions in 2023
- Thailand: PromptPay QR enables instant account-to-account transfers at the point of sale
- Singapore: SGQR merges 30+ payment schemes into a single QR code that works across banks and wallets
- Indonesia: QRIS is the national standard that consolidates QR payments across banks and fintechs
- Mexico: CoDi (now DiMo) enables QR payments through SPEI, Mexico's instant payment rail
In the US, QR code payments are growing but remain far less common than card-based and NFC contactless payments. PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, and some bank apps support QR, but there is no unified national standard.
How are QR code payments different from NFC payments?
Both are contactless, but they work differently. QR code payments use the phone's camera to scan a visual code. NFC (near-field communication) payments, like Apple Pay and Google Pay, use a short-range wireless signal when the phone is tapped against a terminal.
The key practical difference is infrastructure cost. QR codes require no specialized hardware: a printed piece of paper works. NFC requires a compatible terminal on the merchant side and an NFC-enabled device on the customer side. This is why QR payments dominate in emerging markets where card terminal infrastructure is limited.
Are QR code payments secure?
QR code payments are generally secure because the actual fund transfer happens through the underlying banking or wallet infrastructure, not through the code itself. The QR code is just the trigger. Security features include:
- Encryption: payment data is encrypted during transmission
- Authentication: most apps require a PIN, fingerprint, or face scan before completing the payment
- Dynamic codes: single-use codes prevent reuse and tampering
The main risk is "quishing" (QR phishing), where a fraudulent code is placed over a legitimate one to redirect payments. Using dynamic codes, verifying merchant details before confirming, and keeping payment apps updated are the standard defenses.
QR codes and cross-border payments
QR code interoperability across borders is expanding. Singapore and Thailand linked their QR systems (PayNow and PromptPay) in 2024. India's UPI is being adopted for cross-border QR payments in Singapore, the UAE, France, and Japan. These bilateral links let travelers and businesses scan local QR codes and pay through their home country's payment app.
For fintechs building cross-border payment products, connecting to these QR-based rails means reaching customers who prefer local payment methods over cards or SWIFT transfers. Due's payment API connects to local rails in 80+ countries, including QR-native systems like Pix and SPEI, through a single integration.
