About e-QR
Our Mission
e-QR is a pan-European, open, and publicly governed payment initiation specification that enables low-cost, interoperable A2A payments across the SEPA zone.
e-QR Payment Standard MTÜ is the non-profit association registered in Estonia (Registry No: 80666291) responsible for maintaining and evolving the e-QR specification.
What e-QR Provides
A single interoperable payment initiation payload specification
(QR carrier profile in v1.0; carrier-agnostic by design) built for initiating SCT Inst via existing EPC frameworks. No new payment rails.
Merchant Registry for verified merchant identity and IBAN consistency
Harmonised consumer initiation flow across PSPs
Governance, versioning, certification
What e-QR Is NOT
e-QR defines an interoperability and governance layer for initiating SCT Inst payments.
Role of the MTÜ
The MTÜ:
Maintains the standard
Ensures open, non-discriminatory participation for PSPs, merchants, and vendors
Oversees the Merchant Registry
Manages versioning and change control
Supervises the Technical Operator via SLA
Ensures SEPA/EU regulatory alignment
The MTÜ does not control banks, PSPs, or customer accounts.
Operator & Oversight
Operating under MTÜ supervision, contractual SLAs, and audit requirements. No merchant fees are charged.
Bootstrap Phase
During the initial bootstrap phase, e-QR is operated under interim governance arrangements to ensure continuity and delivery.
- e-QR Standard v1.0 is adopted and at least two PSP implementations are live, or
- 24 months after first production deployment.
After the bootstrap, governance expands to include banks, PSPs, vendors, merchants, and public-sector observers.