GCash QR code: how to get yours, scan and pay

How to get your GCash QR code to receive money

These are the steps on GCash's Pay QR page:

1. Open the GCash app and tap QR at the bottom.
2. Tap Generate QR Code on the QR screen.
3. Select Receive Money via QR Code. This generates your personal QR code.
4. Show it or send it to the person paying you. They use it to send you money.

GCash's code is a QR Ph code, the Philippines' national standard, so your personal code is tied to your GCash account. Use the code GCash makes for you; a code built on another website can't point to your account.

To keep a copy, save or screenshot the code and print it with your name next to it. Ask a friend to pay you a small amount first, and check that your name shows on their screen.

How to scan a GCash QR code to send money

To send money to someone's personal QR code, GCash lists these steps:

1. Open the GCash app and tap QR at the bottom.
2. Scan the personal QR code: place it inside the camera frame, or upload it from your saved images.
3. Make sure you have enough in your GCash wallet.
4. Type an optional message, so they know what the payment is for, then tap Next.
5. Review the details and tap Send. GCash reminds you to double-check the recipient.
6. View or download your receipt and keep it as proof.

How to pay a shop by QR with GCash

At a shop showing a QR code:

1. Open the GCash app and tap QR at the bottom.
2. Place the shop's QR code inside the frame.
3. Select GCash as your payment option, check you have enough balance, and continue.
4. View or download your receipt.

Some shops scan you instead. For that, GCash's steps are: tap QR, choose the option to generate a QR code, tap Pay using QR Code, follow the tutorial on screen, and show your code to the cashier.

Abroad, GCash says you can pay at Alipay+ merchants in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, Spain and Qatar.

GCash QR code not working? What to check

GCash's own help is the place for account problems, but most scanning problems have simple causes:

• The camera won't read the code. Hold the phone steady with the whole code inside the frame, in good light, and wipe the lens. A code on a shiny or crumpled sticker can be hard to read; ask the shop for another way to pay.
• The code is on your own screen. You can't point your phone at its own screen. Screenshot it and use the upload option on GCash's scan screen.
• The code isn't a payment code. A QR code that opens a website or a social profile won't start a payment. GCash scans payment codes from GCash and other QR Ph apps.
• Generate QR Code doesn't open. Update the app, check your connection, close and reopen it. If it still fails, contact GCash; the problem is on the account or app side, and only GCash can see it.
• The payment failed or went to the wrong person. Contact GCash straight away through the Help Center, or call 2882 from Globe or TM, or (02) 7213-9999 from other networks (fees may apply). Keep your receipt.

Can you make a GCash QR code on a website?

No. GCash makes your code in the app because it points to your GCash account in a format set by the QR Ph standard's own specifications, which aren't public. A code from a third-party "GCash QR generator" can't be trusted to reach you. Read what QR Ph means for the background, or see how payment QR codes work for the countries where you can safely make your own code.