How to create a UPI QR code for your shop

You’ve seen them at every tea stall and kirana store: a printed QR code taped near the counter that customers scan to pay. It is one of the simplest ways to accept UPI: no card machine, and the money goes straight to your bank account. Here is how it works, how to make and place your own, and the scams to watch for.

First, what is a UPI ID (VPA)?

Every UPI account has an address called a UPI ID, also known as a VPA (Virtual Payment Address). It looks like yourname@bankname and points to one bank account, so people can pay you without knowing your account number or IFSC. One bank account can have more than one UPI ID, for example one created in your bank’s app and another in a payment app. All of them deliver money to the same account.

You can find your UPI ID in your payment app’s profile or settings, or in your bank’s app. Copy it exactly. One wrong letter means the QR either fails or, worse, points to someone else.

What a UPI QR code actually contains

A UPI QR code is a short payment link (it begins with upi://pay) drawn as a scannable pattern. Inside are your UPI ID, the payee name and, optionally, an amount. When a customer scans it, their payment app reads the link and opens the payment screen, already addressed to you. They enter the amount, approve with their UPI PIN, and it is done. Their app usually shows your bank-registered name, so they can confirm the payee.

Static, dynamic and fixed-amount QR codes

Static QR: carries only your UPI ID and name. It never changes, works for any amount, and is the sticker you print once and keep at the counter.
Fixed-amount QR: still static, but with an amount written in. Scanning opens a payment for that exact sum, which suits a fixed-price item, a monthly fee or a single bill you send on WhatsApp. Make a new one when the amount changes.
Dynamic QR: generated fresh for each sale, usually by a billing machine, POS app or payment provider, with the amount and a unique reference for that transaction. It makes matching payments to bills easier, but it needs a merchant setup from a bank or provider.

Which do you need? For most small shops, a single static QR at the counter is enough, with an occasional fixed-amount QR for a particular bill. A free maker like QRwala creates static codes, with or without an amount.

Personal account or merchant account?

A QR made from your personal UPI ID works for receiving money, and many small sellers start that way. Banks and payment apps also offer merchant or business UPI accounts, which can bring features such as payment sound boxes, settlement reports and dynamic QR. Banks and apps may have their own rules on using personal accounts for regular business collections, and terms differ, so check with your bank or payment app before you depend on a personal UPI ID for a busy shop. For official information on UPI itself, the NPCI website is the reliable source.

Make yours in a minute

Find your UPI ID in your payment app or bank app. It looks like name@bankname.
Open the QR maker and choose the UPI option. Enter the UPI ID and the payee name (your shop or your own name).
Add an amount only if you want a fixed-price QR. Leave it blank for a reusable counter QR.
Test it before printing. Scan it with your own or a family member’s payment app, check the name shown, and send ₹1 to confirm the money reaches the right account.
Download and print. QRwala saves the code as a PNG image, ready for printing or sharing on WhatsApp.

QRwala — QR Code MakerCreate UPI, Wi-Fi and link QR codes. Scan too. Free. Open →

Printing and placing it at the counter

Print it big enough to scan from where customers stand. Roughly palm-sized is a good starting point for a counter. If the customer must scan from further away, print larger. Test from the actual spot before sticking it down.
Keep the white border. Don’t trim the margin around the code; scanners need that quiet space.
Print in plain black on white on matte paper or card, then laminate it. Glossy lamination under a tube light can cause glare, so check it scans at an angle.
Add a line of text under the code, such as your shop name and “Scan to pay with any UPI app”, so customers know they are at the right counter.
Place it where you can see it. Stick it on your side of the counter, facing the customer, rather than on a door or wall you can’t watch.

Common QR frauds and how to avoid them

“Scan this to receive money.” A QR is only ever for paying. To receive money you never scan a code and never enter your UPI PIN. Anyone asking you to scan or enter a PIN “to receive” a refund or advance is trying to take money from you.
Swapped or covered stickers. Fraudsters sometimes paste their own QR over a shop’s code. Look at your QR every morning, and scan it yourself from time to time to make sure your own name still appears.
Fake “payment successful” screens. A customer may show a screen that looks like a completed payment, or an edited screenshot. The customer’s screen is not proof.
Collect requests posing as payments. If a stranger sends a UPI request to your phone, approving it sends money out. Decline anything you didn’t expect.

Before you pay any QR yourself: check the payee name your app shows before entering the PIN. If it doesn’t match the shop or person you expect, stop. QRwala’s Scan tab also shows the full text of a QR, so you can read the UPI ID inside a code before trusting it.

Confirm every payment on your side

Hand over goods only after you see the money arrive in your own bank app, payment app history or bank SMS. During rush hours a sound box (offered by some banks and apps for merchant accounts) can help, but checking your own app is the habit that protects you. At day end, compare UPI receipts in your bank app with the day’s sales.

Other handy QR uses

The same tool makes QR codes for more than payments: a Wi-Fi QR so guests connect without typing a password, a link QR pointing to your catalogue or review page, and phone, SMS or email codes. Pair a UPI QR with a printed invoice and customers can pay you on the spot.

Frequently asked

Will my QR work with every UPI app?

QRwala writes the standard UPI payment link that Indian UPI apps read. Still, test it with at least one app before printing.

Does the QR expire?

A static QR doesn’t expire; the details are in the pattern itself. If you change your UPI ID or bank account, make and print a new code and remove the old one.

Are there charges for receiving UPI payments?

Charges and limits depend on your bank, your app and the type of account, and they can change. Check your bank’s or app’s current terms and NPCI’s official information rather than relying on what you hear.

Create a UPI QR code for your shop