EPC QR code
An EPC QR code is a data set standardized by the E uropean P ayments C ouncil , which contains all the data for a SEPA transfer and is machine-readable using QR coding .
function
A mobile banking app on a smartphone or tablet or an online banking program on a notebook or desktop computer, as well as a ticket machine - if you don't have your own device or if you want to pay with cash - decodes the QR code and fills it in this data from an online transfer form. The user can now check the data and then initiate the transfer. The QR code is therefore an aid to filling in, it saves typing errors when filling out online transfer forms by hand.
The QR code can be displayed on the Internet (e.g. on the website of an online shop) or printed out on documents (e.g. invoices). Among other things, it has been used in the Swiss QR-bill since 2020 .
"GiroCode" is a marketing name from GiroSolution GmbH for EPC QR codes.
Data content
The content of the EPC QR code is a multi-line text according to a defined format:
| row | Sample value | description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BCD | Service day | |
| 2 | 002 | Version (001 or 002) | |
| 3 | 2 | Character coding (1 = UTF-8, 2 = ISO 8859-1, 3 = ISO 8859-2, 4 = ISO 8859-4, 5 = ISO 8859-5, 6 = ISO 8859-7, 7 = ISO 8859-10, 8 = ISO 8859-15) | |
| 4th | SCT | SEPA Credit Transfer | |
| 5 | BFSWDE33BER | BIC of the recipient bank ( optional in the EEA ) | |
| 6th | Wikimedia Foerdergesellschaft | Name of the payee (maximum 70 characters text) | |
| 7th | DE33100205000001194700 | International bank account number (IBAN) of the payee | |
| 8th | EUR123.45 | Payment amount (format "EUR #. ##") | |
| 9 | CHAR | Purpose (four-digit letter code, optional) | |
| 10 | RF18 5390 0754 7034 | Reference (structured 35-character code according to ISO 11649 RF Creditor Reference) | |
| 11 | Donate to Wikipedia | Purpose (unstructured text with a maximum length of 140 characters) | |
| 12 | Note to the user (optional) | ||
- ↑ The Creditor Reference may only be specified in line 10 or unstructured text in line 11.
Example:
BCD 001 1 SCT BFSWDE33BER Wikimedia Foerdergesellschaft DE33100205000001194700 EUR123.45 Spende fuer Wikipedia
Although the QR code format allows characters to be encoded according to UTF-8, among other things, financial institutions usually only accept a very limited set of characters, as is the case when completing an online transfer. Line feed (LF) and carriage return line feed (CRLF) are permitted as line breaks, but only one of the two types within the code at the same time.
When creating the QR code, make sure that the error correction is at level "M" (medium), ie at 15% (not at L 7%, Q 25% or H 30%).
Web links
Germany
- Information from the savings banks and VR banks
- Demo version "Girocode" generator from GiroSolution GmbH
- EPC QR Code WordPress Plugin (Open Source)
Austria
- Information from the Study Society for Cooperation in Payment Transactions GmbH (STUZZA)
- Online generator for creating STUZZA's EPC QR codes
Switzerland
Individual evidence
- ↑ David Torcasso: You can now pay bills at SBB ticket machines. In: handelszeitung.ch . February 3, 2019, accessed February 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Quick Response Code: Guidelines to Enable Data Capture for the Initiation of a SEPA Credit Transfer , EPC069-12, PDF: Version 2.1 from February 9, 2016
- ↑ bundesbank.de
- ↑ a b Actually either only reference in line 10, or only purpose of use in line 11 is allowed. However, the example V2 EPC069-12 does not follow this, and neither does apps like Outbank and the example below