QR Checkout

Overview

Meaning and scope

A QR checkout presents a machine-readable payment request that a customer scans with a wallet or payment application. The code may contain an address, asset, network, amount, memo, invoice identifier, expiration, or a URL that retrieves those details. Scanning only transfers instructions between devices; it does not prove payment.

Mechanism and operation

A QR checkout moves payment instructions from a merchant screen, receipt, or terminal into a customer’s wallet camera flow. The encoded data can be a direct address, a standardized payment URI, or a short URL that resolves to a server-side invoice. Dynamic codes are normally safer for commerce because they can bind one order, amount, asset, network, and expiration. The wallet should display the decoded merchant, destination, network, asset, amount, and any memo before signing. HTTPS and authenticated invoice retrieval help, but the customer still needs a clear confirmation screen. Static codes that contain only an address require additional attribution logic.

Practical payment example

A point-of-sale display encodes the recipient and payment information in a QR code. The cashier verifies that the receiving system observed the correct payment, because displaying or scanning the QR code is not settlement.

Operational checks

The merchant may need a unique amount, memo, account mapping, or post-payment claim step, and reused addresses can complicate privacy and reconciliation. Dynamic codes reduce ambiguity but must handle expiry and clock differences without changing the original order silently. After scanning, the wallet may reject, broadcast, or submit a transaction that fails or pays a different amount.

Distinctions and limits

A QR image is not inherently trustworthy: attackers can replace printed stickers, alter a web page, redirect a short link, or generate a code for the wrong network.

Related reading

Related definitions: payment URI, payment confirmation.