SGQR code and SGQR ID: what they are and how to get one

What SGQR is

MAS calls SGQR the world's first unified payment QR code. Instead of a row of stickers, one for each app, a shop shows one SGQR label. The label lists the payment options the shop accepts, and the single code inside works with each of them.

The scheme dates from 2017. In August that year the Payments Council set up an industry task force, co-led by MAS and IMDA, to write common payment QR code specifications for Singapore, and endorsed the SGQR specifications. The specification goes to SGQR members and isn't public.

What the SGQR ID is

Each business's SGQR arrangement has an SGQR ID. MAS lists "requesting information on existing SGQR arrangements such as your SGQR ID" among the matters your merchant acquirer handles. So if you need your SGQR ID, for a form or to change your label, ask the acquirer that issued your SGQR. If you don't know which acquirer that is, MAS asks you to contact it through its online form, with the subject "Query on existing SGQR registration".

How to get an SGQR code for your business

1. Pick a merchant acquirer. MAS publishes the list of SGQR participating banks and acquirers on its "For Merchants" page.
2. Sign a contract with them. MAS says each business needs its own contractual arrangement with the acquirers it uses.
3. The acquirer generates your SGQR label. Only SGQR members, which are licensed merchant acquirers, can do this.
4. Display the label at your counter. MAS has a quick guide on how to display it.

Your acquirer is also who you contact to add or remove a payment scheme, get extra labels for another outlet or counter, change your business details or payment reference, or use SGQR on your website.

This works the same for hawkers as for any shop: the hawker stall applies through an acquirer and gets a label for its counter.

SGQR if you aren't a business

MAS's answer to "Can I apply for SGQR if I am not a merchant?" is that SGQR is meant for businesses at the counter, and that you may want other QR payment options if you aren't one.

For a person, a PayNow QR code does the job. It holds your mobile number or your business's UEN, and any Singapore bank app that supports PayNow can pay it. You can make one in your bank app, or with our PayNow QR code generator, which runs in your browser. Test it by paying yourself a small amount from a different bank's app before you print it.

How to pay with SGQR

MAS describes three steps:

1. Pick a payment option shown on the SGQR label and open that app.
2. Scan the SGQR code and check the merchant name.
3. Key in the amount and complete the payment.

MAS's safety advice for paying is short and worth following. Look at the label for signs of tampering, such as a sticker pasted over the original code or a changed merchant name. Check that the name your app shows matches the name above the label, and check the amount before you confirm. Wait for the payment notification, and shops should wait for theirs before handing over goods. If something goes wrong, report it in your payment app.

SGQR logos and samples

The SGQR label's design and logo belong to the scheme, and acquirers produce the labels, so we don't offer an SGQR sample or logo to download. If you need artwork for a shop, ask your acquirer.

For other countries' payment codes, see how payment QR codes work.