# Serbia — payment codes and schemes

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

## Summary

- **NBS IPS QR** is the national instant payment QR standard
- **IPS SHOW / IPS SCAN** are the two QR payment methods
- **15+ banks** connected to instant payment system
- **RSD 300,000** (~EUR 2,500) transaction limit
- **Banca Intesa** dominates with 21.95% market share

## Banking landscape

### Central Bank
- **Name:** National Bank of Serbia (NBS)
- **Website:** https://www.nbs.rs/
- **Role:** IPS operator, QR standard setter

### Major Banks (2024)

| Rank | Bank Name | Total Assets (EUR) | Market Share | Owner |
|------|-----------|-------------------|--------------|-------|
| 1 | Banca Intesa | 8,168 M | 21.95% | Intesa Sanpaolo (Italy) |
| 2 | UniCredit Bank | 4,547 M | 12.22% | UniCredit (Italy) |
| 3 | Raiffeisen Bank | 3,802 M | 10.22% | Raiffeisen (Austria) |
| 4 | OTP Banka | 3,191 M | 8.57% | OTP Group (Hungary) |
| 5 | Erste Bank | 2,686 M | 7.22% | Erste Group (Austria) |

### Market Structure
- **Italian Dominance:** Intesa + UniCredit hold 34%+
- **Foreign Ownership:** Top banks all foreign-owned
- **26 Banks Licensed:** As of 2024
- **Post-Crisis Consolidation:** Stable, well-capitalized sector

### Banking Characteristics
- High digitalization rate
- Strong mobile banking adoption
- NBS promotes instant payments
- Card payments growing rapidly

---

## Payment infrastructure

### National Payment Systems

| System | Operator | Type | Status |
|--------|----------|------|--------|
| NBS IPS | NBS | Instant RSD | Active |
| RTGS | NBS | Real-time gross | Active |
| Giro Clearing | NBS | Batch clearing | Active |

### Instant Payment System (IPS)
- **Launch:** 2018
- **Operator:** National Bank of Serbia
- **Speed:** 3.5 seconds average
- **Availability:** 24/7/365
- **Limit:** RSD 300,000 (~EUR 2,500)
- **Connected Banks:** 15+ banks

### IPS Statistics
- Growing transaction volumes
- High merchant acceptance
- QR codes widely used
- Mobile app integration

---

## QR code standards

### NBS IPS QR (National Standard)

| Attribute | Value |
|-----------|-------|
| **Standard Name** | NBS IPS QR |
| **Operator** | National Bank of Serbia |
| **Launch** | 2018 |
| **Methods** | IPS SHOW, IPS SCAN |
| **Limit** | RSD 300,000 |

### IPS SHOW (Customer Presents)

**How it works:**
1. Customer opens banking app
2. Generates QR code with linked account
3. Merchant scans customer's QR
4. Payment initiated and confirmed
5. Instant settlement

### IPS SCAN (Merchant Presents)

**How it works:**
1. Merchant displays static or dynamic QR
2. Customer scans QR with banking app
3. Amount auto-filled (dynamic) or entered (static)
4. Customer confirms payment
5. Instant settlement

### QR Code Specifications

| Feature | Details |
|---------|---------|
| **Format** | QR Code |
| **Encoding** | UTF-8 |
| **Data** | Account, amount, reference |
| **Static QR** | Merchant identifier only |
| **Dynamic QR** | Full transaction details |

### Merchant Integration
- POS integration available
- E-commerce plugins
- Static QR stickers for small merchants
- Dynamic QR for receipts

---

## Mobile payment apps

| App Name | Bank | IPS Instant | IPS QR | IPS SHOW | IPS SCAN |
|----------|------|-------------|--------|----------|----------|
| Intesa Mobi | Banca Intesa | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| m-banking | UniCredit | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| RaiMobile | Raiffeisen | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| OTP m-business | OTP | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Erste mBanking | Erste | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

### Feature Adoption
- All major banks support IPS
- QR payment integrated in apps
- Both IPS SHOW and SCAN available
- Growing merchant acceptance

### Digital Wallet Integration
- mBanka (NBS promoted)
- Bank-specific wallets
- Card tokenization available

---

## Schemes

| Scheme | Type | Symbology | Adoption | Technical standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [NBS IPS QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/RS/nbs-ips-qr) | Payment QR | QR Code | Universal | [`nbs-ips-qr`](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/nbs-ips-qr) |
| [IPS SHOW](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/RS/ips-show) | Customer QR | QR Code | All banks | — |
| [IPS SCAN](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/RS/ips-scan) | Merchant QR | QR Code | All banks | — |

## Sources

- [National Bank of Serbia - IPS](https://www.nbs.rs/en/ciljevi-i-funkcije/platni-sistem/)
- [NBS - Instant Payments](https://ips.nbs.rs/)
- [TheBanks.eu - Serbia Major Banks](https://thebanks.eu/countries/Serbia/major_banks)
- [Banca Intesa Serbia](https://www.bancaintesa.rs/)
- [UniCredit Serbia](https://www.unicreditbank.rs/)
- [Raiffeisen Serbia](https://www.raiffeisenbank.rs/)
- [OTP Banka Serbia](https://www.otpbanka.rs/)
- [Erste Bank Serbia](https://www.erstebank.rs/)
- [NBS Annual Report 2023](https://www.nbs.rs/en/publikacije/)
- [Serbia Payment Systems Overview](https://www.nbs.rs/en/ciljevi-i-funkcije/platni-sistem/)

## Full country report

[RS-serbia.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/RS)