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PAY by square: the Slovak payment QR code

PAY by square is the Slovak standard for payment QR codes. It packs the recipient, IBAN, amount, symbols and note into a compressed string that Slovak banking apps unpack, so a payer scans instead of typing. The Slovak Banking Association defines it.

Last updated 7 November 2026

At a glance

Country
Slovakia
Currency
EUR
Defined by
Slovak Banking Association (Slovenská banková asociácia)
Barcode
QR code
Content
A compressed, encoded string, not readable text

Make a PAY by square 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 a PAY by square code

Unlike the other standards, the text in the code is not readable. The payment data is first written out as tab-separated fields, then given a checksum, compressed and finally encoded as letters and digits. You need a library to build or read it.

Amount and currency
A decimal amount and a three-letter code, usually EUR.
Symbols
The variable, constant and specific symbols (variabilný, konštantný and špecifický symbol), up to ten digits each.
Account
The IBAN, with an optional BIC.
Beneficiary and note
The recipient name and address and a payment note of up to 140 characters.

Details that often go wrong

  • The text cannot be edited by hand. Change the data and make the code again.
  • Diacritics are removed from the text to keep it readable in every banking app.
  • Slovak shops match payments by the variable symbol, so put the order number there.

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

Why can I not read the text in a PAY by square code?

The data is compressed and encoded to keep the code small. The bank app reverses these steps.

Can I add an invoice number?

In the standard an invoice can be attached. Scanay uses the variable symbol as the invoice identifier.

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.
  • 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.
  • 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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