# Bizum QR

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bizum-qr
> research date 2026-05-29 · extracted at 2026-10-07
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [Bizum — official](https://bizum.es/)
- [Bizum — HiPay](https://hipay.com/en/blog/bizum-spanish-payment-solution/index.html)

## Overview

**Bizum QR** is **Spain's [Bizum](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bizum) mobile-payment system's QR-code merchant-payment extension**, launched in **2022** to allow Spanish merchants — particularly small businesses without POS hardware — to accept Bizum payments via QR-code scan-at-checkout <sup>[1][1], [Spain report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ES)</sup>. Bizum (the parent product, launched **October 2016** by Bizum SL — a Spanish bank consortium) had previously been primarily P2P + e-commerce; the **2022 QR extension brought in-person merchant acceptance** into Bizum's product footprint. Initial QR rollout was accessible to merchants using payment service providers **Paycomet, MONEI, and Gopick**.

The structural significance: Bizum QR positions Bizum as a **comprehensive alternative to card-network NFC payments** in Spain — covering P2P, e-commerce, P2G, and now in-person retail. Merchants receive funds **instantly** and typically pay a **smaller merchant discount rate (MDR) than card payments** (~1 % vs ~2-3 % for Visa/Mastercard). The flow: **customer generates QR in their bank's app, shows to merchant, merchant scans to validate payment** — a CPM (customer-presented mode) variant of QR payment, different from the MPM merchant-scan-by-customer pattern used by most peer national QRs. Bizum is built on top of **SEPA SCT Inst** for instant settlement.

## History

**Background — Spanish payment landscape pre-2022** <sup>[Spain report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ES)</sup>:
- **Bizum** launched October 2016 as Spanish bank-consortium P2P + e-commerce.
- ~30+ Spanish banks participating.
- Reached ~24M users (~70 % Spanish adults) by early 2020s.
- Pre-QR: in-person retail acceptance limited.

**2022 — Bizum QR launches** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>:
- QR-code functionality for merchant payments.
- Initial PSPs: **Paycomet, MONEI, Gopick**.
- Designed to bring small merchants without POS hardware into Bizum acceptance.

**Adoption** <sup>[Spain report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ES)</sup>:
- Particularly attractive for **small merchants** — no POS hardware investment needed.
- Lower MDR than card payments — ~1 % vs ~2-3 % card.
- Merchant receives funds instantly.

## Technical specification

Bizum QR is **the QR-merchant-payment extension to [Bizum](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bizum)** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>:

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Operator** | **Bizum SL** (Spanish bank consortium) |
| **Underlying rail** | **SEPA SCT Inst** via Iberpay |
| **Settlement** | Instant |
| **Currency** | EUR |
| **QR mode** | **CPM** (customer presents QR; merchant scans) |
| **Initial PSPs** | **Paycomet, MONEI, Gopick** |
| **Merchant MDR** | ~1 % (vs 2-3 % for Visa/Mastercard cards) |

**QR payment flow** <sup>[2][2]</sup>:
- Customer opens bank app → generates Bizum QR (encoding Bizum system info, amount, reference, phone number).
- Customer shows QR to merchant.
- Merchant scans → validates payment → instant settlement.

**CPM (vs MPM)** <sup>[2][2]</sup>:
- Bizum QR is **customer-presented mode** — customer shows QR; merchant scans.
- Different from most peer national QRs ([SGQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/sgqr), [PromptPay QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/promptpay-qr), [DuitNow QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/duitnow-qr)) which use **merchant-presented mode** (MPM) primarily.
- Some peer systems support both modes ([Alipay QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/alipay-qr), [WeChat Pay QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/wechat-pay-qr)).

**SEPA SCT Inst rail**:
- Bizum operates on SEPA SCT Inst — same instant rail used by [Wero](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/wero), peer European bank-consortium products.

## Use cases

**Small-merchant in-person payments** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Cardinal — small Spanish retailers, food trucks, market stalls accept Bizum QR without POS investment.

**Lower-MDR alternative to cards** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: ~1 % MDR appeals to merchants seeking lower cost than Visa/Mastercard's ~2-3 %.

**Instant settlement** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Merchant receives funds immediately — improves cash flow.

**No POS-hardware investment** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Small merchants particularly benefit from zero-CapEx acceptance.

**Cross-Bizum-feature reach** <sup>[Spain report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ES)</sup>: Bizum QR extends the same Bizum user base (24M+ Spaniards) into in-person retail.

## Implementations & ecosystem

**Operator**: **Bizum SL** (~30+ Spanish banks).

**Initial QR PSPs** (2022) <sup>[1][1]</sup>:
- **Paycomet** (Spanish PSP).
- **MONEI** (Spanish PSP).
- **Gopick** (Spanish PSP).

**Broader Spanish PSP ecosystem**: Stripe, Adyen, others gradually adding support.

**Spanish banks participating in Bizum** (~30+) <sup>[Spain report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ES)</sup>: BBVA, Santander, CaixaBank, Sabadell, Bankinter, plus many others.

## Fun facts

- **CPM mode (customer-presented) for Spain**: Most peer national QRs use MPM (merchant-displayed); Bizum chose CPM — customer's bank-app shows the QR, merchant scans. Reflects desire to **leverage existing customer-bank-app integration** rather than requiring merchant-display infrastructure.
- **Lower-MDR competitive positioning**: 1 % MDR is significantly below Visa/Mastercard's ~2-3 %. A direct competitive challenge to card-network economics.
- **Extending Bizum from P2P/e-commerce into in-person retail**: 2022 QR launch completes Bizum's coverage of all major payment scenarios — P2P + e-commerce + in-person retail + P2G.
- **Small-merchant focus**: Bizum QR targets merchants who don't have or want POS hardware — particularly market stalls, food trucks, services. Compare with Square/SumUp/Zettle which target small merchants with dedicated hardware.
- **MONEI's QR-payment positioning**: Spanish PSP MONEI has marketed Bizum QR aggressively for SME merchants.
- **Bizum's full-stack coverage**: With QR, Bizum now covers the same scenario set as [Wero](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/wero) aspirations + most national QR products.

## Comparison

| Feature | Bizum QR (ES) | [BANCOMAT Pay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bancomat-pay) (IT) | [MB WAY QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mb-way-qr) (PT) | [Wero](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/wero) (EU) | [SGQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/sgqr) (SG) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Bizum SL (bank consortium) | BANCOMAT S.p.A. + Nexi | SIBS (PT bank consortium) | EPI (banks) | Singapore Payments Council |
| Launch (QR) | 2022 | Mid-2010s | 2014 | Jun 2024 | Sep 2018 |
| QR mode | **CPM (customer-presented)** | MPM | MPM + CPM | MPM | MPM |
| MDR | **~1 %** | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Underlying rail | SEPA SCT Inst (Iberpay) | TIPS / Italian instant | SIBS instant | EPC SCT Inst | FAST + PayNow |

**Closest peer**: [BANCOMAT Pay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bancomat-pay) (IT) — both bank-consortium QR products in major Southern European economies.

## Status

**Active, growing in-person Bizum acceptance** <sup>[1][1], [Spain report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ES)</sup>:
- **Bizum SL** operator.
- **2022 QR launch**.
- **PSPs**: Paycomet, MONEI, Gopick (initial) + expanding.
- **~1 % MDR**.
- **Instant settlement**.
- **CPM mode**.
- 24M+ underlying Bizum user base.

## Sources

[1]: https://hipay.com/en/blog/bizum-spanish-payment-solution/index.html "Bizum — HiPay"
[2]: https://stripe.com/resources/more/bizum-in-depth-guide "Bizum guide — Stripe"
[3]: https://paymentscmi.com/insights/mobile-payments-spain-plastic-nfc-wallets-qr-codes-multi-rail/ "Mobile payments in Spain — PCMI"

- [1] [Bizum — HiPay][1]
- [2] [Bizum guide — Stripe][2]
- [3] [Mobile payments in Spain — PCMI][3]
- <sup>[Spain report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ES)</sup> `reports/countries/ES-spain.md`

## Deployments

Found in the following country reports (grep across `reports/countries/`):

- **ES** — [ES-spain.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ES)