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MNB QR: the Hungarian payment QR code

The MNB QR code is the Hungarian payment QR code, defined by the Hungarian central bank (Magyar Nemzeti Bank) as the HCT format. It holds the recipient, account, forint amount, a validity date and a message in 17 fields, and Hungarian banking apps read it to prepare the transfer.

Last updated 7 November 2026

At a glance

Country
Hungary
Currency
HUF
Defined by
Hungarian National Bank (Magyar Nemzeti Bank, MNB)
Barcode
QR code, UTF-8 text
Content
17 fields, each ended by a line break, starting with HCT

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

What is inside an MNB QR code

The text starts with HCT, then the version 001 and the character set. Every field ends with a line break, even the empty ones, so the 17 positions stay fixed.

BIC
The recipient bank's BIC. The format requires it.
Name and IBAN
The recipient's name (70 bytes) and account.
Amount
HUF followed by whole forints, with no decimals.
Validity
The date and time until which the code can be used, written as YYYYMMDDhhmmss with a time zone offset, in Budapest time.
Message
The notice to the recipient, up to 70 bytes.

Details that often go wrong

  • The BIC is required here, unlike in most other standards.
  • The validity is in Budapest time, which changes between winter and summer. Counting from midnight UTC gives the wrong day.
  • Names and messages are limited in bytes, not characters, so accented letters take two.

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

How long should the code stay valid?

As long as the payer needs to pay. For web shop orders, 30 days is common. After the date the banking app refuses the code.

Why are there empty fields in the text?

The standard has 17 fields. Some, such as the shop identifier, are optional, but they keep their place as empty lines.

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.
  • EPC QR: The European QR code for SEPA credit transfers in euro, also known as GiroCode.

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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