National QR Schemes Built on EMVCo MPM
Most national consumer QR brands are not a second barcode standard. They are EMVCo MPM plus a locally assigned Merchant Account Information template. If you generate “generic EMV” without that template, local wallets will not know who to pay.
PromptPay (illustrative)
Thai PromptPay QR still looks like MPM. Tag 58 is TH, Tag 53 is 764, and the MAI carries the PromptPay AID/GUID and the mobile or national ID proxy the scheme documents. Putting an Indian AID in that template will CRC-validate and still fail Thai apps.
SGQR (illustrative)
SGQR is a Singapore wrapper around one or more scheme payloads so a single printed code can be accepted by multiple networks. Tag 58 is SG and currency is typically 702. Follow the SGQR branding and template rules from the local operator — not a sample from another country.
Bharat QR versus UPI QR
Bharat QR is the EMVCo-oriented merchant-presented format used so non-UPI wallets can pay. UPI QR is often a different URI. See UPI vs EMVCo QR on this academy. Do not label a UPI intent string as Bharat QR.
Testing matrix
For each market: generate with the official GUID, decode here (country, currency, MAI present, CRC valid), scan with two local banks and one wallet. If any app says unsupported, the template is wrong even if TLV is perfect.
Sources
Scheme operating rules come from the national switch or central bank, layered on EMVCo QRCPS. EMV QR Hub does not certify national schemes. Read emvco.com plus the scheme’s merchant guide.
Do not mix proxies
PromptPay mobile numbers, UPI VPAs, and SGQR UENs are different proxies. Putting a VPA inside a PromptPay template is not “interop,” it is a mis-tagged string that might CRC and will not pay.
Branding versus payload
SGQR and Bharat QR have visual identity rules as well as TLV rules. A correct payload with the wrong logo can still fail a scheme audit. This site does not print scheme logos for you.
Cross-border tourists
A tourist wallet may not have the local scheme. That is not an MPM bug. Either you accept cards as well, or you present a scheme the tourist’s app actually contains.
Work with the switch document
Each scheme publishes a merchant QR guide. Treat that as law in-market. Use this academy to understand the shared MPM skeleton underneath.
Branding, logos, and audits
SGQR and Bharat QR have visual identity rules as well as TLV rules. A correct payload with the wrong logo can fail a scheme audit. This site does not print scheme logos for you. Do not scrape EMVCo or scheme chrome onto a sticker and call it official. The payload still has to parse.
Cross-border tourists may lack the local scheme in their app. That is membership, not an MPM bug. Accept another presentment or display a scheme the inbound wallet contains. Two live stickers without a rule for which to scan creates disputes.
Testing matrix per market
For each launch country, list: required GUID, numeric currency, alpha-2 country, whether static 11 is allowed for your MCC, whether billed 12 requires Tag 62, and which two consumer apps you will test. Then generate in the studio with those constraints and decode. If Decode is happy and both apps refuse, you have a membership problem — call the acquirer with the MAI tree.
Sources: scheme documents first, EMVCo QR specs on emvco.com for the shared grammar, this site as a bench. Operator: Pankaj Kalra, not affiliated with EMVCo or with those schemes.
When to escalate to the switch
If Decode shows legal TLV for the market you are launching and two local wallets refuse, stop editing Tag 59 spelling. Escalate with the MAI subtree and wallet error text. If Decode shows alphabetic Tag 53 or 11+54, fix locally first. The switch cannot membership-fix a grammar bug. EMVCo QRCPS explains the shared wire format; your scheme’s merchant guide explains the GUID and branding that must sit on top.
Illustrative markets without copying specs
PromptPay-style deployments emphasize mobile proxies inside MAI. SGQR-style deployments emphasize UEN and dual-artwork rules. Bharat QR-style deployments pair MPM with UPI intents in the same market. This page names patterns, not private field tables. Your acquirer’s PDF is the source for inner tags; emvco.com is the source for the outer TLV grammar we implement.
Launch checklist export
Export a one-page checklist per country: GUID source, numeric currency, branding asset owner, two test apps, golden payload hash, reprint authority. Hand it to ops, not only engineering. Schemes differ; this skeleton repeats.
Tourist signage
If tourists are common, add plain-language signage about which app to use; TLV correctness does not teach a customer which wallet to open.