# CliQ QR

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/cliq-qr
> research date 2026-05-29 · extracted at 2026-10-06
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [What is CliQ — JoPACC](https://www.jopacc.com/what-we-do/systems-platforms/what-cliq)
- [CliQ user handbook — JoPACC](https://www.jopacc.com/sites/default/files/2023-11/cliq_user_handbook.pdf)
- [JoPACC × Network International — QR at merchants](https://www.jopacc.com/media-center/news/jopacc-collaborates-network-international-launch-instant-qr-payment-services)
- [JoPACC 2024 Payments Report](https://www.jopacc.com/media-center/news/jopacc-releases-its-2024-payments-systems-report)

## Overview

**CliQ** is **Jordan's national instant-payment system** with a **QR-payment overlay**, operated by **JoPACC** (Jordan Payments and Clearing Company) under **Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ)** supervision since **June 2020** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [Jordan report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JO)</sup>. Branded with the imperative-verb tagline "ClIQ — and it's done," the system enables instant inter-bank transfers between bank accounts and mobile wallets using **simple aliases** (username, mobile number) rather than IBANs, supporting **three services** (instant transfer, request-to-pay, return payment) on **ISO 20022 messaging** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>.

CliQ's 2024 numbers are dramatic: **83.95 million transactions (+178 % YoY)**, **JOD 12.1 billion (~US $17B) value**, and **1.67 million registered users (+41.2 %)** — equivalent to **~50 % of Jordan's banked adults** <sup>[4][4], [Jordan report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JO)</sup>. **19 banks** plus **27 financial institutions** (including mobile wallets) participate. The **QR-at-merchants** capability launched via a **Network International partnership** in 2024, making Network International the **first non-account-offering merchant acquirer** to provide instant-QR payments — a structural innovation that allowed wide merchant rollout without requiring merchants to hold a Jordanian bank account.

## History

**Background — Jordanian payment infrastructure** <sup>[Jordan report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JO)</sup>:
- **CBJ** (Central Bank of Jordan) supervises payment systems.
- **JoPACC** (Jordan Payments and Clearing Company) — incorporated as the technical operator; owned by CBJ and Jordanian banks.
- Pre-CliQ Jordanian retail payments leaned on cards (low penetration), cash, and **JoMoPay** (mobile money for the unbanked).

**June 2020 — CliQ launches** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>:
- JoPACC launches CliQ as Jordan's first instant-payment system.
- Initial participation: **10 banks**.
- Core proposition: instant bank-to-bank transfers using mobile number or alias instead of IBAN.
- ISO 20022 messaging adopted from launch — making CliQ one of the **earliest ISO-20022-native national instant systems in the MENA region**.

**Expansion of participants** <sup>[Jordan report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JO)</sup>:
- Grew from 10 banks (2020) → **19 banks** + **27 institutions** (mobile-wallet companies included) by 2024.
- **JoMoPay (mobile-wallet rail) interoperates with CliQ** — a structurally important inclusion because it brings the unbanked-population mobile wallets into the same QR-acceptance ecosystem.

**Network International partnership for QR merchants** <sup>[3][3], [Jordan report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JO)</sup>:
- Date: 2024.
- Network International becomes the **first non-account-offering merchant acquirer** to provide CliQ QR payments at merchants.
- Structurally significant: Network International acquires merchants without requiring them to hold a Jordanian bank account — opens CliQ acceptance to a far wider merchant base than bank-acquirer-only model.

**2024 explosive growth** <sup>[4][4]</sup>:
- Transaction volume **+178 %** YoY → 83.95M.
- Transaction value JOD 12.1B (~US $17B).
- Users **+41.2 %** → 1.67M.
- **Q1 2024 alone**: 20.14M transactions.

## Technical specification

CliQ's design follows the **modern ISO-20022 instant-payment pattern** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>:

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Operator** | **JoPACC** (Jordan Payments and Clearing Company) |
| **Regulator / supervisor** | **CBJ** (Central Bank of Jordan) |
| **Messaging** | **ISO 20022** |
| **Settlement** | RTGS-JO (Jordan's RTGS) for final settlement |
| **Currency** | JOD (Jordanian dinar) |
| **Aliases** | Mobile number, username (alias), IBAN |
| **Services** | Instant transfer, request-to-pay, return payment |

**Aliasing model** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>:
- **Mobile number** — most common consumer-facing identifier.
- **Username (alias)** — chosen handle, like @merchant_name.
- **IBAN** — fall-back option, but rarely needed in retail flows.

**Three core services** <sup>[1][1]</sup>:

| Service | Description |
|---|---|
| **Instant transfer** | Sender pushes funds to recipient alias |
| **Request to pay** | Recipient sends payment request; sender confirms |
| **Return payment** | Reversal mechanism for incorrect transfers |

**QR-at-POS flow (Network International model)** <sup>[3][3]</sup>:
- Merchant's POS device generates a CliQ-compatible QR.
- Customer opens any participating bank's app or wallet, scans QR.
- Settlement occurs **instantaneously** once payment confirmed.
- **Merchants settle without holding a Jordanian bank account** (NI handles the bridge).

**No public source confirms whether CliQ QR is EMVCo MPM/CPM compliant** — the technical-spec gap mirrors [MIA QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mia-qr)'s. ISO 20022 messaging is confirmed; the QR payload format itself is not publicly documented in the sources reviewed.

## Use cases

**P2P transfers** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: The cardinal use case — send money to friends and family by mobile number, 24/7, no IBAN entry.

**Bank-to-mobile-wallet bridge** <sup>[Jordan report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JO)</sup>: CliQ interoperates with JoMoPay (mobile money) — meaning a banked customer can send to an unbanked recipient's mobile wallet, and vice versa. This is a major financial-inclusion lever.

**QR at merchants** <sup>[3][3]</sup>: Via Network International, merchants display QR for instant settlement — cafes, retailers, services.

**Request-to-pay** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Sender requests funds; this maps to invoice/freelancer/utility-bill patterns.

**Cross-bank without IBAN burden** <sup>[1][1], [Jordan report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JO)</sup>: Major UX win in a market where IBANs were a significant friction point.

## Implementations & ecosystem

**Participating banks (19)** include <sup>[Jordan report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JO)</sup>:
- **Arab Bank** (largest by assets, regional)
- **Housing Bank for Trade and Finance (HBTF)**
- **Jordan Ahli Bank**
- **Cairo Amman Bank**
- **Jordan Kuwait Bank**
- Plus 14 others.

**27 financial institutions total** — includes mobile-wallet operators (JoMoPay participants).

**Merchant acquirer**: **Network International** — first non-account-offering acquirer.

**No public open-source SDK or developer portal** — CliQ is a bank-integrated rail with merchant-acquirer onboarding.

## Fun facts

- **"CliQ — and it's done"**: The system's tagline is an imperative-verb branding pattern — same family as [Swish QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/swish-qr) ("svisha det!"), [TWINT](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/twint) ("twint it"), [MB WAY QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mb-way-qr). Consumers in Jordan now say "CliQ me the money."
- **JoPACC's structural innovation — public-private hybrid**: JoPACC is **co-owned by CBJ and Jordanian banks**, sitting between pure-central-bank operation ([MIA QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mia-qr)) and pure-bank-consortium operation ([Wero](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/wero)). This hybrid was praised in Jordan's MENA-region payment-modernisation context.
- **ISO 20022 from launch (2020)**: CliQ was ISO-20022-native from day 1, which made messaging modernisation in 2024 simpler than many peer systems still migrating from ISO 8583.
- **178 % growth in 2024**: One of the **highest-growth national instant-payment systems globally** in 2024 — outpacing even [UPI QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-qr)'s already-high growth rate.
- **Non-account-acquirer model (Network International)**: Allowing a non-bank merchant acquirer to onboard merchants for instant QR is a relatively novel structural choice — opens acceptance to merchants who, e.g., bank in another country but serve Jordanian customers.
- **Mobile-wallet interop (JoMoPay)**: The seamless bank-to-mobile-wallet bridge is rare among national instant systems and is a key Jordanian financial-inclusion lever.
- **MENA regional template**: CliQ is frequently cited as a regional reference architecture for MENA central banks designing their own national instant systems.

## Comparison

| Feature | CliQ (JO) | [Aani](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/aani) (UAE) | [Mada](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mada) (SA) | [MIA QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mia-qr) (MD) | [UPI QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-qr) (IN) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | Jun 2020 | Oct 2023 | 2022 (Mada Pay) | Mar 2024 | 2016 |
| Operator | JoPACC (public-private) | Al Etihad Payments (CBUAE) | SAMA + Saudi Payments | NBM (central bank direct) | NPCI |
| Messaging | ISO 20022 | ISO 20022 (assumed) | EMVCo | n/a | NPCI proprietary |
| Users | 1.67M (~50 % banked adults) | ~17 banks integrated | n/a | 900K (~50 % adults) | 360M+ |
| 2024 volume | JOD 12.1B (~$17B) | n/a (new) | n/a | 13.2B MDL (~$700M) | UPI ~$2.4T |
| QR-merchant model | NI as non-account acquirer | Banks | Mada Pay app | Banks | Bharat QR / [UPI QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-qr) |

**Closest peers**: [Aani](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/aani) (UAE) and [Mada](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mada) (SA) — same MENA region, same CBJ-style supervision, same instant-rail-with-QR-overlay pattern. CliQ's earlier launch (2020 vs Aani's 2023) makes it more mature; Aani was likely informed by CliQ's experience.

## Status

**Active, fast-growing** <sup>[4][4], [Jordan report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JO)</sup>:
- **1.67M users** (end 2024) — ~50 % of banked adults.
- **83.95M transactions in 2024** (+178 % YoY).
- **JOD 12.1B value** in 2024.
- **19 banks + 27 institutions** participating.
- **QR at merchants** rolling out via Network International (2024+).
- **Open Banking pilot** launched early 2025 (additional layer atop CliQ infrastructure).

**Outlook**: Continued user growth toward bank-population saturation, broader merchant QR coverage via NI and additional acquirers, and likely cross-border integration with regional MENA rails (Aani, BUNA, AFAQ).

## Sources

[1]: https://www.jopacc.com/what-we-do/systems-platforms/what-cliq "What is CliQ — JoPACC"
[2]: https://www.jopacc.com/sites/default/files/2023-11/cliq_user_handbook.pdf "CliQ user handbook — JoPACC"
[3]: https://www.jopacc.com/media-center/news/jopacc-collaborates-network-international-launch-instant-qr-payment-services "JoPACC × Network International — QR at merchants"
[4]: https://www.jopacc.com/media-center/news/jopacc-releases-its-2024-payments-systems-report "JoPACC 2024 Payments Report"

- [1] [What is CliQ — JoPACC][1]
- [2] [CliQ user handbook — JoPACC][2]
- [3] [JoPACC × Network International — QR at merchants][3]
- [4] [JoPACC 2024 Payments Report][4]
- <sup>[Jordan report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/JO)</sup> `reports/countries/JO-jordan.md`

## Deployments

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

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