SEPA Transfer QR Code Generator

SEPA QR Code: scan-to-pay across Europe

A SEPA QR Code (also called EPC QR Code or Girocode in Germany) is a Quick Response code that encodes a complete SEPA Credit Transfer instruction. When the recipient points a compatible banking app at the QR, the payment screen is auto-filled with the beneficiary's name, IBAN, amount and reference. The format was standardised by the European Payments Council in 2012 under specification EPC069-12, and it works across the 36 SEPA countries — the EU plus the EEA, the UK, Switzerland, Monaco, Andorra, San Marino and Vatican City.

Encoded payload — eleven lines of text

The QR contains plain UTF-8 text, one field per line, in a fixed order. The first three lines are the service header; the next six describe the transfer; the last two are optional human-readable notes.

BCD            ← service tag (always BCD)
001            ← version
1              ← encoding (1 = UTF-8)
SCT            ← scheme (SEPA Credit Transfer)
BIC            ← optional, recommended
Beneficiary Name (≤70 chars)
IBAN           ← no spaces
EUR123.45      ← amount, two decimals
Purpose Code   ← optional ISO 20022 (CHAR, SALA...)
Remittance ref ← structured (RF...) or free
Free-text info ← optional, ≤140 chars

Which apps actually read it?

• Germany / Austria: Sparkasse, Volksbank, Deutsche Bank Mobile, Postbank, ING — virtually universal support thanks to Girocode.
• Pan-European fintech: Revolut, N26, Wise, bunq.
• France / Italy / Spain: support is bank-by-bank — BNP Paribas, ING DiBa, Intesa Sanpaolo work; many smaller banks still don't.
• Most native phone cameras detect the format from a printed invoice and offer "Open in banking app" via the OS.

SEPA QR versus Brazilian PIX

Both are scan-to-pay codes, but the underlying rails are different. PIX, launched by the Brazilian Central Bank in November 2020, uses the BR Code payload (a structured TLV string protected by CRC16), settles in under 10 seconds and is mandatory for every bank in the country. SEPA QR is older (2012), settles in seconds via SEPA Instant when both banks support it, otherwise next business day, and adoption is bank-by-bank. PIX is a single national rail; SEPA QR is one of several QR conventions across 36 countries. Knowing the difference matters for Brazilians invoicing European clients: the European customer cannot scan a PIX QR, and a Brazilian app cannot post a SEPA transfer.

Where SEPA QR shines

The killer use case is the printed invoice: PDFs, paper bills and even physical signs in restaurants carry the QR next to the classic IBAN/BIC block. The payer scans, reviews the auto-filled fields and approves — no typing, no transcription errors. Compared to a SWIFT MT103 wire (slow, expensive, prone to typos) or a manual SEPA transfer (you still have to copy the IBAN by hand), the QR removes the most error-prone step. Popular generator services include girocode.de, bezahlcode.de and bank-issued tooling.

FAQ

Can a Brazilian banking app scan it? The app can read the QR and decode the text, but it cannot initiate a SEPA transfer — that requires a European bank account. The scan is only useful inside a European banking app or for copy-paste workflows.

Is the BIC mandatory? No — since 2016 the BIC is optional for SEPA transfers within the SEPA zone (the "IBAN-only" rule). It is still recommended for cross-border clarity and for banks that did not update their parsing.

What happens if I encode the wrong amount or IBAN? The QR is just an auto-fill aid; the payer must review and approve before the bank executes. There is no validation in the QR itself, so always proofread the encoded fields before printing them on an invoice.

What is the maximum amount? The EPC spec allows up to EUR 999999999.99. In practice, individual bank apps cap the per-transaction value far below that — typically EUR 15,000 to EUR 50,000 for retail accounts.