# Hungary — payment codes and schemes

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/HU
> extracted at 2026-10-03
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

## Summary

- **AFR (Azonnali Fizetési Rendszer)** is Hungary's mandatory instant payment system (since March 2020)
- **Qvik** launched September 2024 - national QR payment service mandated for all banks
- **MNB QR Standard** - central bank-defined QR code specification for interoperability
- **Fizetési kérelem** (Request to Pay) integrated into instant payment infrastructure
- **OTP Bank** dominates market with 24.30% share

## Banking landscape

### Central Bank
- **Name:** Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB)
- **Website:** https://www.mnb.hu/
- **Role:** Catalyst for AFR, QR standard owner, payment system oversight

### Major Banks (2024)

| Rank | Bank Name | Total Assets (HUF) | Market Share | Owner |
|------|-----------|-------------------|--------------|-------|
| 1 | OTP Bank | 18,391,050 M | 24.30% | Domestic (publicly listed) |
| 2 | MBH Bank | 11,951,670 M | 15.79% | Domestic |
| 3 | K&H Bank | 6,104,230 M | 8.06% | KBC Group (Belgium) |
| 4 | UniCredit Hungary | 5,263,570 M | 6.95% | UniCredit (Italy) |
| 5 | Erste Bank Hungary | 5,010,980 M | 6.62% | Erste Group (Austria) |

### Market Structure
- **OTP Dominance:** Europe's top-performing bank in 2023 (S&P ranking)
- **2024 OTP Net Income:** HUF 745 billion
- **Foreign Ownership:** K&H (Belgium), UniCredit (Italy), Erste (Austria)
- **Credit Ratings:** OTP Baa1 (Moody's), K&H BBB+ (Fitch)

---

## Payment infrastructure

### National Payment Systems

| System | Operator | Type | Status |
|--------|----------|------|--------|
| AFR | GIRO Zrt. | Instant payments | Active (March 2020) |
| GIRO | GIRO Zrt. | Clearing | Active |
| Qvik | MNB/GIRO/Banks | Merchant QR | Active (Sept 2024) |

### AFR (Azonnali Fizetési Rendszer)
- **Launch:** March 2, 2020
- **Operator:** GIRO Zrt.
- **Unique Feature:** Mandatory for ALL Hungarian banks
- **Availability:** 24/7/365
- **Speed:** Under 5 seconds
- **Limit:** Up to HUF 10 million per transaction
- **Basis:** SEPA Instant Credit Transfer Scheme (SCT Inst)

### 2024 Regulatory Mandates
- **February 1, 2024:** Mandatory Request to Pay (RTP) capability
- **February 1, 2024:** Mandatory QR code, NFC, and Deeplink implementation
- **September 2024:** Qvik merchant payment system launched

---

## QR code standards

### MNB QR Code Standard (Primary)

| Attribute | Value |
|-----------|-------|
| **Standard Name** | MNB QR Code Guidelines |
| **Owner** | Magyar Nemzeti Bank + GIRO Zrt. |
| **Type** | Payment initiation QR |
| **Encoding** | UTF-8 |
| **Fields** | 17 data fields + 17 LF characters |

### QR Code Types

**1. Credit Transfer QR (HCT):**
- Pre-fills payment details
- Amount, beneficiary account, reference
- Used for bills and invoices

**2. Request to Pay QR (RTP):**
- Payer generates QR with their data
- Payee scans and sends payment request
- Enables reverse payment flow

### Technical Specifications
- Character encoding: UTF-8
- 17 mandatory data fields (may be blank)
- Field separator: LF (line feed) characters
- Compliant with HCT Inst standard

### GitHub Library Available
- PHP library for generating Hungarian QR payment codes
- Based on MNB standard

---

## Mobile payment apps

| App Name | Bank | Qvik | AFR | QR Scan |
|----------|------|------|-----|---------|
| OTP Bank HU | OTP | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| George | Erste Bank | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| K&H mobilbank | K&H | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CIB Bank | CIB | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MBH Bank | MBH | Yes | Yes | Yes |

### OTP Bank Mobile
- QR code bill payment
- Instant payments via AFR
- Qvik integration via SimplePay
- Most downloaded banking app in Hungary

### George (Erste Bank)
- QR code photography for referrals
- SEPA transfers
- Payment request management
- Cronto color QR for secure authentication

---

## Schemes

| Scheme | Type | Symbology | Adoption | Technical standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [MNB QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/HU/mnb-qr) | Payment QR | QR Code | Mandatory | [`mnb-qr`](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mnb-qr) |
| [Qvik](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/HU/qvik) | Merchant QR | QR/NFC/Link | 20,000+ merchants | — |

## Sources

- [EPC - AFR Hungarian Retail Instant Payment System](https://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/news-insights/insight/afr-hungarian-retail-instant-payment-system)
- [MNB - QR Code Guidelines](https://www.mnb.hu/letoltes/qr-kod-utmutato-20190712-en.pdf)
- [MNB - Instant Payments Guidelines](https://www.mnb.hu/en/payments/instantpayments/guidelines)
- [Daily News Hungary - Qvik Launch](https://dailynewshungary.com/qr-code-payment-system-qvik/)
- [Trade Magazin - Qvik September 2024](https://trademagazin.hu/en/uj-qr-kodos-azonnali-fizetesi-megoldas-indul-szeptembertol/)
- [TheBanks.eu - Hungary Major Banks](https://thebanks.eu/countries/Hungary/major_banks)
- [GitHub - QR Payment HU Library](https://github.com/hubipe/QrPaymentHU)
- [Payments Cards Mobile - Qvik Innovation](https://www.paymentscardsandmobile.com/innovation-in-hungarian-instant-payments-with-qvik/)
- [Helpers Finance - Qvik Payment](https://helpersfinance.hu/qvik-payment-new-mobile-payment-option-in-hungary/)
- [Lightspark - Instant Payments Hungary](https://www.lightspark.com/knowledge/instant-payments-hungary)

## Full country report

[HU-hungary.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/HU)