EPC QR Code Generator

What Is an EPC QR Code?

An EPC QR code is a QR code whose content is a SEPA credit transfer instruction. The European Payments Council published the format as EPC069-12 so that a payer can scan an invoice instead of typing an IBAN, an amount and a reference by hand. The content is plain text, one element per line in a fixed order, meant to sit next to the same details printed as text.

A QR code that holds only an IBAN carries no beneficiary and no amount, so it is not a payment instruction under EPC069-12. For that simpler code, use the IBAN QR code generator. In Germany the EPC code is known as a GiroCode; the GiroCode generator is set up for German accounts and adds the Bundesbank account check.

How Do You Know an EPC QR Code Follows the Standard?

The report under the fields reads the finished code back with the same parser as our payment QR decoder and checks it against EPC069-12: the four header elements, the length of each field, the euro amount range, one reference rather than two, the BIC where it is required, no separator after the last populated element, the 331-byte budget, error correction level M and a symbol no larger than version 13. An RF creditor reference is also checked for its ISO 11649 check digits.

It judges what was written into the code, not what the form holds, so a field that was shortened or dropped to fit shows up there. A code that passes every rule is well formed. Whether a particular banking app reads it remains that bank's decision.

What Are the Twelve Elements of an EPC QR Code?

The payload has up to twelve elements, one per line. The first seven lines are always present; the BIC line may be empty in version 002. Elements after the last one that carries data are left out altogether.

Open the diagram at full size

• 1. Service tag: always BCD.
• 2. Version: 001 or 002. The tool starts on 002.
• 3. Character set: a digit from 1 to 8. We write 1, UTF-8, so accented names survive.
• 4. Identification: always SCT, for SEPA credit transfer.
• 5. BIC of the beneficiary's bank. Required in version 001; in version 002 it may stay empty unless a bank outside the EEA is involved.
• 6. Beneficiary name: up to 70 characters. The person or company being paid, never the bank.
• 7. IBAN of the account the money goes to.
• 8. Amount: the currency code and the value with no space, from 0.01 to 999,999,999.99. The tool writes it as short as it can be, EUR120 rather than EUR120.00, as the guideline's own example EUR12.3 does and as the Austrian rules require.
• 9. Purpose: up to four letters or digits.
• 10. Creditor reference (the standard's structured reference): up to 35 characters; an ISO 11649 RF creditor reference may be used, and that is what this tool writes.
• 11. Free-text reference (the standard's unstructured reference): up to 140 characters. Only one of elements 10 and 11 may be filled.
• 12. Note to the payer: up to 70 characters. The standard calls it beneficiary to originator information.

The payload inspector under the tool shows each element with its byte count. For the arithmetic behind RF check digits, see the RF creditor reference generator; for the story behind each element, including a mistake we made with element 6, read what is inside a SEPA payment QR code.

Version 001 or 002: When Is the BIC Required?

Version 001 always requires the BIC of the beneficiary's bank. Version 002 makes it optional, with one exception written into the guideline: the BIC stays mandatory when a scheme participant from outside the European Economic Area is involved. That covers SEPA countries such as Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Monaco. The tool starts on 002, fills in the BIC when our directory knows the bank, and locks the downloads when a BIC is required and missing. Finland's own guidance asks for version 001, so the switch is there.

Which Error Correction Level Does an EPC QR Code Use?

EPC069-12 specifies level M. Some QR libraries raise the level on their own when a higher one fits into the same symbol; this generator turns that off, so every code is written at M. The centre logo offered by our IBAN QR code generator needs a higher level, so it is not offered here.

How Much Data Fits in an EPC QR Code?

At most 331 bytes, the capacity of a version 13 QR symbol at level M. The limit counts bytes, not characters, so a name in Greek or Cyrillic uses more of it than the same number of Latin letters. The bar above the code shows how much of the budget is used. If the content would not fit, the generator first drops the note to the payer and then the reference, and says so, rather than produce a code with a truncated IBAN.

Which Countries Use EPC QR Codes, and Which Use Their Own?

The instruction inside the code is a SEPA credit transfer, so the receiving account should be at a bank that takes part in SEPA. Our directory marks 42 IBAN countries as SEPA. Some countries publish their own rules for printing the same code: Austria prints it inside a frame labelled "Zahlen mit Code", Belgium asks for at least 2 by 2 cm on the invoice, and Finland asks for a module of at least 0.5 mm. Belgium also fills element 10 with its own structured communication where other countries use an RF reference. When the IBAN is from one of these countries, the tool shows the rule under the report.

Other countries use payment QR formats of their own that an EPC reader does not read: the Swiss and Liechtenstein QR-bill, Czech QR Platba and Slovak PAY by square among them. On an invoice that requires one of those, an EPC code does not replace it.

What Can an EPC QR Code Not Tell You?

Nothing in the payload ties the beneficiary name to the IBAN. A code can name one company and pay an account that belongs to someone else, and it will scan perfectly. The check that compares the two is Verification of Payee, which only the account-holding bank can run.

If you received a code rather than made one, the payment QR decoder reads it back element by element and checks the account it pays before you do.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources & References

• European Payments Council: EPC069-12 v3.1, guidelines for a SEPA credit transfer QR code
• European Payments Council: SEPA credit transfer rulebook and implementation guidelines
• ISO/IEC 18004:2024: QR code symbology, versions and error correction levels
• PSA Payment Services Austria: QR code and BCD definitions for Austria
• Febelfin: QR code on invoices for credit transfers in Belgium
• Finance Finland: Use of the QR code on the credit transfer form
• SIX: The Swiss QR-bill standard
• QR Platba: The Czech payment QR format

Last updated: September 2026