# QR Platba

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/qr-platba
> research date 2026-05-29 · extracted at 2026-10-03
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [QR Platba — official](https://qr-platba.cz/)
- [SPAYD — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Payment_Descriptor)
- [SPAYD format — ČBA](https://www.cbaonline.cz/clanky/format-pro-sdileni-platebnich-udaju-v-czk-qr-kody)

## Overview

**QR Platba (SPAYD — Short Payment Descriptor)** is **the Czech Republic's national open-source standard for encoding payment data into QR codes**, **accepted 14 November 2012** by the **Czech Banking Association (ČBA)** in cooperation with **Česká spořitelna, ČSOB, and other domestic banks** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [3][3], [Czechia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/CZ)</sup>. SPAYD is the **technical specification underlying QR Platba** — defining precise syntax for QR-encoded payment instructions including IBAN, amount, currency, variable symbol, payee name, message, etc.

The structural distinction: **QR Platba / SPAYD is open-source + free + publicly documented + freely usable by anyone** — a remarkably permissive technical standard. The standard is **supported by all Czech banks**: Česká spořitelna, Komerční banka, ČSOB, Raiffeisenbank, Fio banka, Air Bank, MONETA, and others. The 2012 origin makes QR Platba one of the **oldest national QR-payment-data-encoding standards in Europe** — predating most peer-country national QR rails by 5-7+ years. While QR Platba addresses **payment-data-encoding** (filling out payment forms via QR), it is structurally complemented by Czech instant-payment infrastructure and the related **[Platba na kontakt](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/platba-na-kontakt)** phone-addressed payment service. Czech invoicing software widely embeds SPAYD QR codes — making invoice-to-payment-form-filling automatic for Czech businesses.

## History

**Background — Czech payment landscape pre-2012** <sup>[Czechia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/CZ)</sup>:
- **Česká národní banka (ČNB)** — central bank.
- **Czech Banking Association (ČBA)** — industry body.
- **CERTIS** — Czech interbank-payment system.

**Pre-2012 — Need for standardisation** <sup>[3][3]</sup>:
- Various banks experimenting with QR-encoded payment data.
- Fragmentation challenge.

**14 November 2012 — SPAYD accepted by ČBA** <sup>[3][3]</sup>:
- ČBA officially accepts SPAYD as standard.
- Submitted to all Czech banks as official local standard.

**Subsequent updates** <sup>[2][2]</sup>:
- Multiple versions; version 1.0 currently in effect.

**Universal Czech bank support** <sup>[3][3]</sup>:
- All major Czech banks support QR Platba.

**Komerční banka client format** [[kb-format]]:
- KB-specific client format published.

## Technical specification

QR Platba / SPAYD is **ČBA-coordinated open-source national QR-payment-encoding standard** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [3][3]</sup>:

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Standards body** | **Czech Banking Association (ČBA)** |
| **Specification** | **SPAYD (Short Payment Descriptor)** |
| **Accepted** | **14 November 2012** |
| **Currency** | CZK (Czech koruna) — with extensions for other currencies |
| **License** | **Open-source + free + publicly documented + freely usable** |
| **Supporting banks** | **All Czech banks** (Česká spořitelna, KB, ČSOB, Raiffeisenbank, Fio, Air Bank, MONETA, others) |
| **Current version** | 1.0 |

**SPAYD encoding** <sup>[2][2]</sup>:
- IBAN, amount, currency.
- Variable symbol (Czech payment-reference standard).
- Payee name, payment message.
- Other Czech-specific payment fields.

**Open-source license** <sup>[3][3]</sup>:
- Free to use.
- Publicly documented.
- Third-party libraries available (e.g., rspayd Ruby gem).

## Use cases

**Invoice QR codes** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Cardinal use — Czech invoices include SPAYD QR.

**Bank-app scanning to auto-fill payment forms** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Customer scans invoice QR → payment form pre-filled.

**Business-to-customer billing** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Standardised across all Czech merchants.

**Online checkout** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: E-commerce SPAYD QR display.

**Charity donations** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Quick donation via QR scan.

**Cross-bank ease**: Customer of any Czech bank can scan any SPAYD QR.

## Implementations & ecosystem

**Standards body**: **Czech Banking Association (ČBA)**.

**Founding cooperation**: Česká spořitelna + ČSOB + other domestic banks.

**Supporting banks**: All Czech banks (Česká spořitelna, KB, ČSOB, Raiffeisenbank, Fio Banka, Air Bank, MONETA, and others).

**Open-source libraries**: rspayd (Ruby), etc.

**Czech invoicing software**: Widespread SPAYD QR-code embedding.

## Fun facts

- **14 November 2012 acceptance**: Among the oldest national QR-payment-encoding standards in Europe.
- **Open-source + free + publicly documented**: Remarkably permissive standard.
- **All Czech banks support**: Universal coverage.
- **Invoice-embedded SPAYD QR**: Standard Czech invoicing practice.
- **Pre-dates peer national QR by 5-7+ years**: Early-mover advantage.
- **ČBA-coordinated**: Czech Banking Association industry-body coordination.
- **Multiple OS libraries**: Developer ecosystem maturity.
- **CERTIS interbank-payment context**: Czech payment-infrastructure foundation.

## Comparison

| Feature | QR Platba/SPAYD (CZ) | [EPC QR / Stuzza](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/epc-qr) (EU) | [SGQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/sgqr) (SG) | [UPI QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-qr) (IN) | [Girocode](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/girocode) (DE) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standards body | ČBA | European Payments Council | Singapore Payments Council | NPCI | DK + Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft |
| Launch | **14 Nov 2012** | 2015 | Sep 2018 | 2016 | 2013 |
| Type | National QR data-encoding | European QR data-encoding | Unified national QR rail | NPCI-proprietary QR | German EPC-compatible QR |
| Open-source | **Yes (free + public)** | Yes (publicly documented) | n/a | n/a | Yes |
| Universal national-bank support | **Yes (all CZ banks)** | EPC-member banks | All SG banks | All IN banks | DE banks |

## Status

**Active, mature standard** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [3][3]</sup>:
- **ČBA-coordinated** since 14 November 2012.
- **SPAYD specification publicly documented**.
- **All Czech banks supporting**.
- **Open-source + free + widely-implemented**.

## Sources

[1]: https://qr-platba.cz/ "QR Platba — official"
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Payment_Descriptor "SPAYD — Wikipedia"
[3]: https://www.cbaonline.cz/clanky/format-pro-sdileni-platebnich-udaju-v-czk-qr-kody "SPAYD QR codes — ČBA"
[kb-format]: https://www.kb.cz/getmedia/35265715-fe8e-4df9-9212-beaf625ba417/Klientsky-format-pro-QR-platbu-v-KB-pdf.pdf "QR Platba KB format"
[rspayd]: https://github.com/kraxnet/rspayd "rspayd — Ruby gem for SPAYD"

- [1] [QR Platba — official][1]
- [2] [SPAYD — Wikipedia][2]
- [3] [SPAYD format — ČBA][3]
- <sup>[Czechia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/CZ)</sup> `reports/countries/CZ-czech-republic.md`

## Deployments

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

- **CZ** — [CZ-czech-republic.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/CZ)