# SIB UPI QR
> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/sib-qr
> research date 2026-05-30 · extracted at 2026-10-06
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards
Specifications:
- [UPI Product Overview — NPCI](https://www.npci.org.in/what-we-do/upi/product-overview)
- [SIB UPI QR Scan and Pay Service — South Indian Bank](https://www.southindianbank.com/content/business-banking/sib-upi-qr-scan-and-pay-service/3940)
- [SIB UPI POS QR [Scan & Pay] Terms and Conditions](https://www.southindianbank.com/userfiles/file/sib_upi_pos_qr_t_and_c_v2.pdf)
# SIB UPI QR
## Overview
**SIB UPI QR** — marketed by the bank as **SIB UPI QR Scan & Pay** and, as a merchant product, **SIB UPI-POS** — is **South Indian Bank's deployment of India's [UPI QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-qr) standard** [2][2], [3][3]. It is **not a distinct wire format**: the QR is an ordinary NPCI **UPI deep link** of the form `upi://pay?pa=&pn=&am=&cu=INR&...`, identical in structure to every other bank's UPI QR. What is specific to South Indian Bank ("SIB") is the *deployment*: the merchant Virtual Payment Address (VPA) sits on SIB's NPCI handle **`@sib`** (e.g. `@sib`), the funds settle into a SIB account, and the merchant-acquiring relationship is with SIB [4][4], [5][5].
Because UPI QR is interoperable by design, a SIB-issued merchant QR is scanned and paid by **any** UPI app (PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, BHIM, other bank apps), and a SIB customer can scan **any** merchant's UPI QR regardless of which bank issued it [2][2], [India report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN). This page documents SIB's role as a UPI participant; the canonical technical reference is the parent standard, [UPI QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-qr).
## History
South Indian Bank Ltd was registered under the Indian Companies Act on **29 January 1929** and commenced business the same day from a single office at Round South, **Thrissur, Kerala** [6][6]. It became a **Scheduled Bank** under the Reserve Bank of India Act on **7 August 1946** and was the **first private-sector scheduled bank in Kerala** to be licensed under Section 22 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, on **17 June 1957** [6][6]. The bank has a long track record of early technology adoption: it deployed **in-house branch automation in 1992**, the same year it became the first private bank to open an exclusive NRI branch and a currency chest on behalf of the RBI, and it pioneered an early full-scale **Core Banking System** rollout among Kerala-headquartered banks [6][6], [7][7]. By **31 December 2024** it operated **955 branches/service outlets and 1,290 ATMs/CRMs across 26 states and 4 union territories**, with **9,369 employees** as of **31 March 2025** [6][6].
UPI itself was launched by NPCI on **11 April 2016** and made publicly available with a first wave of member-bank apps in **August 2016** [upi-ref], [1][1]. South Indian Bank's consumer UPI app **SIB M-Pay** went live shortly after, on **5 September** of the same launch wave [7][7]; it was later superseded by the unified mobile-banking app **SIB Mirror+** (developer: "The South Indian Bank Ltd"; Apple App Store ID `1184796899`, available since at least 2017) which absorbed UPI send/receive and `@sib` VPA management into the bank's main consumer surface [8][8], [5][5]. The merchant collection app **SIB UPI-POS** (`com.sib.mpos`) followed, surpassing **100,000+ installs** on Google Play with a 4.0/5 rating over 288 reviews as of mid-2026 [4][4].
SIB's UPI deployment has tracked the NPCI roadmap rather than running a separate product timeline: UPI 1.0 in **2016**, UPI 2.0 (signed merchant QR, overdraft, blocked mandates) in **2018**, and the UPI 3.0 generation of features from **2024** onward [[upi-ref]]. Recent SIB Mirror+ release notes record the cadence — **Recurring UPI Mandates / AutoPay** in v8.2.9 (**13 February 2025**), **Foreign Inward Remittance through UPI from Singapore** in v8.2.17 (**16 July 2025**), and **biometric authentication for UPI transactions up to ₹5,000** in v8.4.0 (May 2026) [8][8]. The bank reported **"98 % of our transactions are conducted digitally"** in a 2025 industry interview, alongside the rollout of **voice-command UPI**, **NFC Tap & Pay** and the **UPI Circle** delegated-payment feature [9][9].
## Technical specification
SIB UPI QR is, at the wire level, **identical to [UPI QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-qr)** — see that page for the authoritative spec. The QR encodes a `upi://pay` URI inside a standard [QR Code](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/qr-code) symbol; when scanned, any UPI-compliant app opens with the payee details pre-filled [upi-ref], [2][2].
**`upi://pay` URI parameters** (NPCI, shared by all UPI QRs) [[upi-ref]]:
| Parameter | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| `pa` | Payee Address — the VPA, e.g. `merchant@sib` | Yes |
| `pn` | Payee Name (URL-encoded) | Yes |
| `mc` | Merchant Category Code | For merchants |
| `tid` | Transaction ID | Optional |
| `tr` | Transaction Reference | Optional |
| `am` | Amount in INR | Optional (omit for user-entered) |
| `cu` | Currency code (always `INR`) | Recommended |
| `tn` | Transaction Note | Optional |
| `sign` | Cryptographic signature (UPI 2.0+ signed QR) | For signed-merchant QRs |
**What is SIB-specific is the VPA, not the format.** The merchant VPA is issued on SIB's NPCI handle [4][4], [5][5]:
```
@sib
```
The `@sib` suffix is the NPCI-registered PSP handle that routes the collection request to South Indian Bank, which resolves it to the underlying IFSC + account and settles the funds [upi-ref], [4][4].
**Sample static SIB UPI QR payload**:
```
upi://pay?pa=southindianbank@sib&pn=SIB%20Merchant&cu=INR
```
**QR modes in the SIB UPI-POS product** [2][2], [3][3]:
- **Static QR** — a printed standee/sticker bearing the merchant VPA, provided by the bank; the payer enters the amount.
- **Dynamic QR** — the SIB UPI-POS app generates a per-transaction QR after the cashier keys in amount and bill number; the customer scans and the amount is pre-filled.
**Settlement** rides the underlying UPI rail with NPCI as switch operator — funds move in seconds, 24/7/365, exactly as for any UPI QR [[upi-ref]]. Signed merchant QR (UPI 2.0, SHA256-with-RSA512) and the per-transaction limits are properties of UPI itself, not of the bank's implementation [[upi-ref]].
**SIB-specific commercial parameters** [2][2], [3][3]:
- **MDR (transaction charge):** 1.2% of transaction value (subject to revision).
- **Per-transaction limit:** ₹1,00,000 (₹1 lakh), per NPCI UPI guidelines.
- **RuPay credit card on UPI-POS:** SIB enables RuPay credit-card transactions through UPI-POS — an NPCI feature surfaced in the SIB merchant product.
## Use cases
SIB UPI QR serves the same use cases as UPI QR generally, scoped to South Indian Bank's customer and merchant base [2][2], [India report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN):
- **Merchant collection (Scan & Pay / UPI-POS)** — a SIB merchant displays a `@sib` QR (printed standee or app-generated dynamic QR); the customer pays from any UPI app and funds settle to the merchant's SIB account. The app offers a real-time dashboard (recent transactions, history, downloadable UPI-POS statement) and voice-based confirmation of successful payments [2][2].
- **Multi-counter retail** — the SIB UPI-POS app can be deployed across multiple counters or shops [2][2].
- **Person-to-person transfers** — SIB customers send/receive via `@sib` VPAs through SIB Mirror+ / the legacy SIB M-Pay app; instant and free for both parties [4][4].
- **Bill payments and e-commerce checkout** — dynamic `upi://pay` QRs generated per transaction; SIB Mirror+ also supports UPI mandates / recurring AutoPay [5][5].
Transaction limits follow NPCI UPI rules rather than bank-specific ones (P2M/P2P up to ₹1,00,000; P2M unverified offline ₹2,000) [2][2], [India report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN).
## Implementations
There is **no SIB-specific QR library** — and there should not be one, because the format is plain UPI. Any NPCI-UPI QR encoder produces a valid SIB merchant QR simply by setting `pa=@sib`. Pointing an open-source UPI encoder at an `@sib` VPA is all that "SIB support" requires.
**UPI-specific encoders (build the `upi://pay` payload)**:
| Repo | Language | Stars | License | Last release | Notes |
|---|---|---:|---|---|---|
| [bhar4t/upiqr](https://github.com/bhar4t/upiqr) | TypeScript | 30 | MIT | v1.3.18, Jan 2023 | NPCI-compliant `upi://pay` builder, emits base-64 QR PNG + intent URL [10][10] |
| [adityavijay21/upiqr](https://github.com/adityavijay21/upiqr) | TypeScript | 3 | MIT | 2025 | Newer fluent-API rewrite; PNG/SVG/UTF-8 output [11][11] |
| [Pratyay360/upiqrcode](https://github.com/Pratyay360/upiqrcode) | Rust → WASM | 2 | Apache-2.0 | 2024 | WebAssembly UPI QR SVG generator, npm-distributed [12][12] |
**Generic QR encoder/decoder (handles the symbol layer)**:
| Repo | Language | Stars | License | Last release | Notes |
|---|---|---:|---|---|---|
| [paulmillr/qr](https://github.com/paulmillr/qr) | TypeScript | 339 | dual MIT / Apache-2.0 | v0.6.0, Apr 2026 | Zero-dep QR encoder *and* reader (camera feed, file, SVG/PNG); decodes any `upi://pay?...` string from a SIB QR [13][13] |
**Decoding a SIB UPI QR** requires only (a) a generic QR reader to extract the `upi://pay?…` URI and (b) a standard URL/query-string parser to split out `pa`, `pn`, `am`, `cu`, `tn`. On Android, the OS forwards the `upi://` intent directly to any installed UPI app; on iOS it is routed via Universal Links — neither relies on an SIB-specific decoder library [[upi-ref]].
**SIB's own apps** (closed-source, distributed via app stores):
- **SIB UPI-POS** (`com.sib.mpos`, "The South Indian Bank Ltd") — the merchant collection app that generates static/dynamic QRs and tracks transactions; **100,000+ installs**, **4.0★ over 288 reviews** as of mid-2026 [4][4].
- **SIB Mirror+** (`com.SIBMobile`, Apple ID `1184796899`) — the consumer mobile-banking app providing UPI send/receive, scan-to-pay, AutoPay/recurring mandates, Singapore-corridor inward remittance, biometric authorisation for low-value UPI; **available in 9 languages** [5][5], [8][8], [9][9].
The genuinely SIB-specific integration work is **not** at the QR layer but at the **PSP/bank layer** — merchant onboarding (apply at a branch or via `sms@sib.co.in`), VPA issuance on the `@sib` handle, and settlement into SIB accounts — done through South Indian Bank's own channels rather than open source [2][2], [4][4].
## Comparison
**vs. [UPI QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-qr) (the parent standard)** — SIB UPI QR *is* UPI QR; the only difference is the deployment context (the `@sib` handle and SIB as the settling bank). Everything about symbology, URI format, signing and settlement is inherited unchanged. This page exists to document the bank deployment, not a new format.
**vs. [Bharat QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bharat-qr) (India, parallel standard)** — Like all UPI participants, SIB's UPI QR sits on the UPI-only `upi://pay` deep-link rail rather than the EMVCo-TLV, card-network-interoperable [Bharat QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bharat-qr). Tellingly, **SIB also runs a separate "SIB Bharat QR" merchant app** (a Worldline-built product) for the card-network-interoperable variant — the two coexist within the one bank, mirroring the national picture where UPI QR dwarfs Bharat QR (**658 M vs 67 M deployed**) [India report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN).
**vs. other banks' UPI QR (HDFC `@hdfc`, ICICI, SBI, Paytm `@paytm`, etc.)** — Functionally identical at the QR layer; banks differ only by handle (`@sib` vs `@hdfc` …) and by acquiring/onboarding terms and MDR, not by wire format. UPI's interoperability mandate means a payer never needs to know which bank issued the QR [India report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN), [upi-ref].
**vs. PSP-led UPI wallets (PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm)** — Different layer of the stack. PSPs are the *payer-side* wallet apps that scan UPI QRs; SIB UPI QR is *merchant-side* acceptance issued by the SIB bank. Because UPI mandates interoperability, a PSP wallet will pay a SIB-issued `@sib` QR with the same UX as any other QR — meaning the choosing criterion for a Vietnamese-style wallet-vs-bank competition doesn't apply in India. **PSPs cannot lock SIB merchants out**; SIB cannot lock PhonePe users out [upi-ref], [India report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN).
**vs. the cross-border [UPI QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-qr) integrations (Singapore PayNow, UAE Aani, France Lyra)** — Architecturally distinct. The PayNow-UPI link works by *bridging settlement* between two national instant-payment systems behind the scenes; the user-facing QR remains the local one. SIB Mirror+ exposing Singapore-PayNow-inward UPI in v8.2.17 (16 July 2025) is therefore the first SIB-deployed *international receive* surface, while the SIB-issued `@sib` merchant QR continues to be a strictly domestic acceptance instrument [8][8].
## Fun facts
**A 96-year-old Kerala bank turned a domestic QR rail into a Singapore-corridor remittance product.** South Indian Bank — Kerala's first private-sector scheduled bank, licensed in **1957** [6][6] — pushed an update to SIB Mirror+ on **16 July 2025** that lets a `@sib` UPI ID receive money "instantly from Singapore" via the NPCI–MAS PayNow corridor [8][8]. A QR designed for domestic merchant payments in 2016 now functions as a cross-border remittance address for one of India's largest NRI banking franchises — a quiet repurposing of UPI's wire format that no change to the QR itself was needed for.
**One mid-size bank, two competing national QR rails.** SIB ships **SIB UPI-POS** (`upi://pay` deep link) and a separate **SIB Bharat QR** app (EMVCo TLV, Worldline-built) — carrying both of India's competing merchant-QR formats simultaneously under one roof [2][2], [India report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN). The asymmetry is striking: at the national level UPI QR deployments (~658 M) outnumber Bharat QR (~67 M) roughly 10:1, yet SIB maintains a full merchant-acquirer stack on both [India report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN).
The "SIB UPI QR Scan & Pay" / "SIB UPI-POS" branding is itself a clean illustration of a recurring pattern in India's payments market: **dozens of banks market their own QR product name on top of one shared NPCI format.** The customer-facing brand multiplies while the wire format stays singular — the opposite of the country-branded national standards ([VietQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/vietqr), [PromptPay QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/promptpay-qr), [DuitNow QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/duitnow-qr)) where one brand maps to one format [India report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN).
## Status
**Active**, as a deployment of an active national standard. South Indian Bank is a participating UPI bank running `@sib`, and the **SIB UPI-POS** and **SIB Mirror+** apps are live on the app stores [2][2], [4][4].
UPI QR is India's dominant merchant-payment surface, and as of 2025 it is also the **world's largest retail fast-payment system by volume**:
- **IMF report "Growing Retail Digital Payments (The Value of Interoperability)" (June 2025)** explicitly named UPI the world's largest retail fast-payment system [14][14].
- Per ACI Worldwide's *Prime Time for Real-Time 2024* data, UPI recorded **129.3 billion transactions in 2024 — 49 % of global real-time digital transaction volume** (Brazil 14 %, Thailand 8 %, China 6 %) [14][14].
- By end-FY 2024-25 NPCI counted **568.6 million UPI QRs deployed across 65 million Indian merchants**; PIDF (Payment Infrastructure Development Fund) had added **54.5 million digital touchpoints** in tier-3-to-6 centres by 31 October 2025 [14][14].
- Earlier domestic figures cited in this report (658 M UPI QRs, 83 % of Indian retail digital payments) remain consistent with the broader national trajectory [upi-ref], [India report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN).
SIB's individual UPI volume is not separately quantified in the public sources used for this entry and is deliberately omitted rather than estimated.
No deprecation: the underlying UPI rail is core national infrastructure with no successor planned [[upi-ref]]. SIB's deployment will track NPCI's UPI roadmap (UPI 3.0 features, RuPay-credit-on-UPI, cross-border links — including the **NPCI ↔ Singapore PayNow** corridor SIB Mirror+ has already wired into the consumer app) as those features reach member banks [2][2], [8][8].
## Sources
[1]: https://www.npci.org.in/what-we-do/upi/product-overview
[2]: https://www.southindianbank.com/content/business-banking/sib-upi-qr-scan-and-pay-service/3940
[3]: https://www.southindianbank.com/userfiles/file/sib_upi_pos_qr_t_and_c_v2.pdf
[4]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sib.mpos&hl=en_IN
[5]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.SIBMobile
[6]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Indian_Bank
[7]: https://www.caknowledge.in/sib-upi-app-mpay/
[8]: https://apps.apple.com/in/app/sib-mirror-mobile-banking/id1184796899
[9]: https://bfsi.eletsonline.com/how-south-indian-bank-is-transforming-digital-banking-for-every-indian/
[10]: https://github.com/bhar4t/upiqr
[11]: https://github.com/adityavijay21/upiqr
[12]: https://github.com/Pratyay360/upiqrcode
[13]: https://github.com/paulmillr/qr
[14]: https://www.ibef.org/news/upi-recognized-as-world-s-largest-real-time-payment-system-by-imf
[upi-ref]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/standards/upi-qr
[bharat-ref]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/standards/bharat-qr
[in-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN
1. [UPI Product Overview — NPCI][1]
2. [SIB UPI QR Scan and Pay Service — South Indian Bank][2]
3. [SIB UPI POS QR Scan & Pay — Terms and Conditions (PDF)][3]
4. [SIB UPI-POS — Google Play][4]
5. [SIB Mirror+ — Google Play][5]
6. [South Indian Bank — Wikipedia][6]
7. [SIB UPI App / M-Pay — CAknowledge][7]
8. [SIB Mirror+: Mobile Banking — Apple App Store][8]
9. [How South Indian Bank is Transforming Digital Banking — Elets BFSI][9]
10. [bhar4t/upiqr — GitHub][10]
11. [adityavijay21/upiqr — GitHub][11]
12. [Pratyay360/upiqrcode — GitHub][12]
13. [paulmillr/qr — GitHub][13]
14. [UPI Recognized as World's Largest Real-Time Payment System by IMF — IBEF (citing IMF June 2025 report)][14]
## Deployments
Found in the following country reports (grep across `reports/countries/`):
- **IN** — [IN-india.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN)
## Deployments
_No country reports mention this standard by name._