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EPC QR code (GiroCode) for SEPA transfers

The EPC QR code is the European standard for SEPA credit transfers in euro. It holds the recipient, IBAN, amount and a remittance text in 11 lines, and many banking apps in the euro area read it. In Germany and Austria it is also called GiroCode. The European Payments Council defines it.

Last updated 7 November 2026

At a glance

Country
Euro area (SEPA)
Currency
EUR
Defined by
European Payments Council (EPC069-12)
Barcode
QR code, error correction M, at most 331 bytes
Content
Up to 11 lines of UTF-8 text that start with BCD

Make a EPC QR code in Scanay

Pick the country, fill in the details, and Scanay checks every field as you type and draws a code that banking apps can read.

  • Share it by link, embed it on a page, send it by e-mail or download it
  • One place for all seven standards, with the right fields for each country
  • Included in the free trial and in the subscription
Start the 3-day free trialI already have an account

You need a Scanay account to make codes. No card to start.

What is inside an EPC QR code

The text has one value per line. The first four lines are fixed: BCD, the version, the character set and SCT for a SEPA credit transfer.

BIC
Optional with version 002 inside the euro area. Empty if you leave it out.
Name and IBAN
The recipient's name (up to 70 characters) and account.
Amount
EUR followed by the amount with a decimal point, for example EUR42.90.
Remittance
Free text of up to 140 characters that the payer's bank passes on, usually the order number.

Details that often go wrong

  • It works for euro only. For other currencies use the national standard.
  • Use unstructured remittance text, so what the customer reads in the e-mail is exactly what the code carries.
  • Keep the whole text under 331 bytes, or the code will not follow the standard.

Using it in your Shopify store

Scanay makes the code for every order automatically and puts it into your Shopify order e-mails, so you never type these details yourself. It picks the right standard from the country of the order.

The setup guide takes about ten minutes, or start the free trial.

Questions

Is a GiroCode the same as an EPC QR code?

Yes. GiroCode is the German name for the same SEPA payment QR code.

Which countries can use it?

Countries in the euro area. In some of them, such as Slovenia and Croatia, a national standard is more common, and EPC QR is the choice for payers from other countries.

Other standards

  • UPN QR: The QR code on Slovenian payment slips, read by Slovenian banking apps.
  • HUB3: The PDF417 barcode on Croatian payment slips, read by Croatian banking apps.
  • QR Platba: The short, readable QR code for Czech bank transfers, supported by Czech banking apps.
  • PAY by square: The compressed QR code used for Slovak bank transfers and invoices.
  • ZBP: The pipe-separated 2D payment code recommended by the Polish Bank Association.
  • MNB QR: The payment QR code defined by the Hungarian central bank, with a validity date.

Scanay is not affiliated with the organisations that define these standards. The descriptions summarise their public specifications; check the specification itself for binding details.

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