# LankaQR

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

Specifications:
- [LankaQR — Central Bank of Sri Lanka](https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/en/LANKAQR)
- [LankaPay — official](https://www.lankapay.net/)
- [National LANKAQR launch — CBSL](https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/en/news/Launch-of-the-National-LANKAQR-initiative)

## Overview

**LANKAQR** is **Sri Lanka's national unified interoperable QR-payment standard**, launched **5 October 2020** by the **Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL)** in collaboration with **LankaPay (formerly LankaClear Pvt Ltd)** and licensed financial institutions <sup>[1][1], [3][3], [Sri Lanka report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/LK)</sup>. LANKAQR is **EMVCo-compliant**, runs on LankaPay's **Common Electronic Fund Transfer Switch (CEFTS)**, and provides a **unified national QR code standard for local currency payments** — standardising QR codes across banks and payment apps. As of recent data, **21 local banks and finance companies are connected, enabling over 400,000 merchants** across Sri Lanka.

**March 2025** marked an inflection: **Alipay+ Sri Lanka integration via LankaPay** — enabling Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Thai, and other Asian tourists with Alipay-connected wallets to **pay at LANKAQR merchants using their home wallets** [[alipay-plus]]. This cross-border integration is structurally similar to [TWQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/twqr) cross-border partnerships and reflects Sri Lanka's tourism-economy importance. The Sri Lankan context post-2022 (sovereign-debt-default crisis, economic recovery) makes LANKAQR's role as **low-cost payment infrastructure for SMEs particularly important** during the country's economic-recovery phase.

## History

**Background — Sri Lankan payment landscape pre-2020** <sup>[Sri Lanka report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/LK)</sup>:
- **Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL)** — regulator.
- **LankaClear (Pvt) Ltd** — payment-clearing-house, later rebranded LankaPay.
- **CEFTS** (Common Electronic Fund Transfer Switch) — interbank rail.
- Pre-2020: fragmented closed-loop QR landscape.

**5 October 2020 — National LANKAQR initiative launched** <sup>[1][1], [3][3]</sup>:
- CBSL launches LANKAQR with LankaClear/LankaPay.
- **EMVCo-compliant** unified national QR standard.
- Designed to minimise cash usage, particularly for SMEs.

**LankaPay's role** <sup>[2][2]</sup>:
- LankaClear rebrands as LankaPay.
- Operates the **CEFTS** rail underlying LANKAQR.
- Coordinates implementation across financial institutions.

**Adoption growth** <sup>[Sri Lanka report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/LK)</sup>:
- 21 local banks + finance companies connect.
- 400,000+ merchants nationwide accepting.

**2022-2023 — Sri Lankan economic crisis context** <sup>[Sri Lanka report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/LK)</sup>:
- Sri Lanka defaults on sovereign debt (2022).
- Foreign-exchange shortages, fuel queues, political turmoil.
- LANKAQR's low-cost-payment-for-SMEs positioning particularly important during recovery.

**March 2025 — Alipay+ Sri Lanka launches** [[alipay-plus]]:
- **LankaPay + Ant International** announce Alipay+ enablement.
- Inbound tourists with Alipay-connected wallets (10+ Asian markets) can pay at LANKAQR merchants.

## Technical specification

LANKAQR is **CBSL/LankaPay-operated EMVCo-compliant national QR standard** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>:

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Standards body** | **Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL)** |
| **Operator** | **LankaPay** (formerly LankaClear Pvt Ltd) |
| **Underlying rail** | **CEFTS** (Common Electronic Fund Transfer Switch) |
| **Specification** | **EMVCo QR Code Specification** |
| **Compliance** | PCI-DSS (for sensitive payment information) |
| **Currency** | LKR (Sri Lankan rupee) |
| **Participants** | 21 local banks + finance companies |
| **Merchants** | **400,000+** nationwide |
| **Cross-border** | **Alipay+** (since March 2025) |

**Cross-border via Alipay+** [[alipay-plus]]:
- Inbound Asian tourists with Alipay-connected wallets can pay at LANKAQR merchants.
- Important for Sri Lankan tourism-economy recovery.

## Use cases

**Merchant payments (P2B)** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Cardinal use — customer scans LANKAQR at merchant; payment processes via CEFTS.

**SME enablement (low-cost payments)** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Strategic positioning — particularly important for Sri Lankan SMEs in post-2022 economic-recovery context.

**Cash-displacement** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: CBSL strategic goal.

**Cross-app interoperability** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Single QR accepted by all 21 participating bank/finance apps.

**Cross-border tourism (Alipay+ inbound)** [[alipay-plus]]: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Thai tourists pay at Sri Lankan merchants via Alipay+.

## Implementations & ecosystem

**Standards body**: **Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL)**.

**Operator**: **LankaPay** (formerly LankaClear).

**21 local banks + finance companies** <sup>[Sri Lanka report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/LK)</sup>:
- **Commercial Bank of Ceylon**.
- **Hatton National Bank (HNB)**.
- **Sampath Bank**.
- **Bank of Ceylon** (state).
- **People's Bank** (state).
- **Seylan Bank**.
- 15+ additional banks and finance companies.

**Cross-border partner**: **Ant International (Alipay+)** since March 2025.

**Acquirer integrations**: Marx Pay and other Sri Lankan payment-service providers.

## Fun facts

- **EMVCo-compliant from day 1**: CBSL's October 2020 launch followed proven EMVCo-mandated path used by [SGQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/sgqr), [DuitNow QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/duitnow-qr), [PromptPay QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/promptpay-qr), etc.
- **400,000 merchants across the island**: Significant penetration in Sri Lanka's ~22M population.
- **Alipay+ March 2025 integration**: Sri Lanka joins the growing list of LANKAQR-acceptance-meets-Alipay+ markets — leveraging tourism economy.
- **Economic-crisis-recovery role**: LANKAQR's low-cost-SME-payment positioning is particularly important during Sri Lanka's post-2022 economic recovery — payment infrastructure as economic resilience.
- **LankaPay's broader role**: LankaPay (formerly LankaClear) operates not just LANKAQR but also CEFTS, JustPay, Common ATM Switch, Common Mobile Switch — comprehensive interbank infrastructure.
- **CBSL coordination**: Central Bank coordinates the LANKAQR initiative — common pattern with peers like / [KE-QR Code](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/ke-qr-code), [MIA QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mia-qr).
- **Ant International partnership**: Reflects the increasingly-common pattern of national QR rails integrating with Alipay+ for inbound Chinese/Asian tourist payments.

## Comparison

| Feature | LANKAQR (LK) | [PromptPay QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/promptpay-qr) (TH) | [DuitNow QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/duitnow-qr) (MY) | [Bangla QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bangla-qr) (BD) | [Bhutan QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bhutan-qr) (BT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standards body | CBSL | NITMX/ITMX | PayNet | Bangladesh Bank | RMA |
| Launch | Oct 2020 | 2017 | 2017/2019 | Mar 2019 | 2020 |
| Specification | EMVCo | EMVCo MPM | EMVCo MPM/CPM | EMVCo MPM | UPI-aligned |
| Banks/FIs | 21 | All TH banks | PayNet members | All BD banks | 5 |
| Merchants | 400,000+ | High | High | Growing | 23,315 |
| Cross-border | **Alipay+ (Mar 2025)** | SG, MY, JP, VN, ID | SG, TH | n/a | India BHIM-UPI |

**Closest peer**: [Bangla QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bangla-qr) (BD) — similar South Asian central-bank-coordinated EMVCo national QR.

## Status

**Active, growing Sri Lankan national QR** <sup>[1][1], [3][3]</sup>:
- **CBSL + LankaPay** operators.
- **EMVCo-compliant** since October 2020.
- **21 banks + finance companies** + **400,000+ merchants**.
- **Alipay+ cross-border** since March 2025.
- **CEFTS underlying rail**.

## Sources

[1]: https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/en/LANKAQR "LankaQR — CBSL"
[2]: https://www.lankapay.net/ "LankaPay — official"
[3]: https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/en/news/Launch-of-the-National-LANKAQR-initiative "Launch of National LANKAQR — CBSL"
[alipay-plus]: https://www.lankapay.net/en/news/alipay+-is-now-enabled-in-sri-lanka "Alipay+ enabled in Sri Lanka — LankaPay"

- [1] [LankaQR — CBSL][1]
- [2] [LankaPay — official][2]
- [3] [National LANKAQR launch — CBSL][3]
- [alipay-plus] [Alipay+ Sri Lanka launch][alipay-plus]
- <sup>[Sri Lanka report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/LK)</sup> `reports/countries/LK-sri-lanka.md`

## Deployments

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

- **LK** — [LK-sri-lanka.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/LK)