QR code payments for UK businesses
Quick Reference
Direct Answer
QR code payments let a customer pay you by scanning a code with their phone, with no card machine needed. UK businesses take them three ways in 2026: a dedicated QR product (PayPal QR codes at 1.5% + 10p above £10), a payment link displayed as a QR code (Stripe 1.5% + 20p, Square 1.4% + 25p, SumUp 2.5%), or an open-banking pay-by-bank QR. QR transactions run at online rates, so for face-to-face trade a card machine is usually cheaper per transaction; QR wins for table ordering, donations and unattended points.
Summary
UK QR payment options and fees, read from provider pricing pages 14 July 2026: PayPal QR codes 1.5% + 10p above £10 and 2% + 5p at £10 or below; Stripe payment links as QR at 1.5% + 20p standard UK cards; Square links as QR at 1.4% + 25p UK cards; SumUp links at 2.5%; open-banking pay-by-bank QR priced per provider (GoCardless bank payments 1% + 20p capped £4). PayPal Zettle QR codes are closed to sellers who joined after 8 May 2023. QR runs at online rates; in-person terminal rates are lower for counter trade.
This Page Covers
How QR code payments work in the UK, every mainstream option's published fee as of July 2026, safety, and when QR beats a card machine or payment link.
Not Covered Here
Chinese wallet acceptance (Alipay, WeChat Pay) for tourist retail, and closed-loop app QR schemes run inside a single brand's app.
The three ways UK businesses take QR payments
1. A dedicated QR product. PayPal is the main UK example: you display a PayPal QR code, the customer scans and pays from the PayPal app, and you pay a dedicated QR rate of 1.5% + 10p above £10 (2% + 5p at £10 or below), notably cheaper than PayPal's standard 2.9% + 30p online rate.
2. A payment link displayed as a QR code. Every mainstream link provider (Stripe, Square, SumUp) turns a payment link into a QR code at no extra charge. The customer scans and pays on the same hosted page a link would open, at the provider's standard online rate. This is the zero-setup route if you already use one of these providers.
3. Pay by bank QR. The customer scans and approves an open-banking bank transfer in their banking app: no card rails, no chargebacks, and often lower fees. This is the newest of the three models; the providers, rates and trade-offs are covered in our pay by bank guide.
QR payment fees by option
| Option | Fee | How it works | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal QR codes | 1.5% + 10p above £10; 2% + 5p at £10 or below | Customer scans your PayPal QR code and pays from the PayPal app | A dedicated QR rate, cheaper than PayPal's 2.9% + 30p online checkout rate |
| Stripe Payment Link as QR | 1.5% + 20p (standard UK cards) | Any Stripe payment link converts to a QR code; customer scans and pays on the hosted page | No extra charge for the QR itself |
| Square payment link as QR | 1.4% + 25p UK cards | Square checkout links share as QR codes; customer pays on the hosted page | Apple Pay, Google Pay and Clearpay accepted on the page |
| SumUp payment link as QR | 2.5% (online rate) | SumUp payment links shared or displayed as a code | Same rate as all SumUp remote payments |
| Pay by bank QR (open banking) | Provider-dependent; GoCardless bank payments are 1% + 20p capped at £4 | Customer scans, approves a bank transfer in their banking app | No card rails, no chargebacks; see the pay by bank guide |
| PayPal Zettle QR codes | Closed to new sellers | Only available to Zettle sellers who signed up before 8 May 2023 | New PayPal-ecosystem businesses use PayPal QR codes instead |
Fees read from each provider's UK pricing page on 14 July 2026. Providers change published rates without notice.
Where QR fits against a card machine
QR transactions are online payments: the customer authorises on their own phone, so they price at online rates and carry 3D Secure rather than chip and PIN. For counter trade that makes them the more expensive lane; an in-person tap on a terminal costs 1.69% to 1.75% at the pay-as-you-go providers against 1.4% + 25p to 2.5% via QR, and the tap is faster.
QR earns its keep where handing over a device does not work: table ordering and bill payment in hospitality (the customer orders and pays without waiting for staff, a cheaper cousin of the self-service kiosk), donation points, market and event overflow when one reader has a queue, unattended locations, and invoices where the QR sits on the document. If you already take payments with Square, Stripe or SumUp, QR acceptance is included at no extra cost, so the practical answer is usually a terminal for the counter plus QR codes from the same account for everything else.
One honest note on demand: UK QR payment adoption remains a niche behaviour compared with contactless cards and phones. Treat QR as a low-cost addition to card acceptance, not a replacement for it. For phone-based selling, compare payment links and taking card payments over the phone.
In one sentence
A terminal for the counter, QR from the same account for tables, donations and overflow.
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How do QR code payments work?
You display a QR code (on a sticker, a screen, a receipt or a table talker) that encodes a payment destination. The customer scans it with their phone camera, lands on a hosted payment page or in a payment app, and completes the payment themselves with a card, wallet or bank transfer. You need no card machine; the customer's phone does the work.
How much do QR code payments cost a UK business?
On published July 2026 pricing: PayPal's dedicated QR rate is 1.5% + 10p above £10 (2% + 5p at £10 or below), Stripe payment links as QR cost the standard 1.5% + 20p, Square 1.4% + 25p, SumUp 2.5%. Open-banking QR payments price by provider; GoCardless bank payments are 1% + 20p capped at £4. There are no monthly fees for basic QR acceptance at any of these.
Are QR payments card-present or online rates?
Online. The customer keys or wallet-pays on their own phone, so QR transactions process at the provider's online or remote rate, which is why a card machine is usually cheaper per transaction for face-to-face trade: in-person rates (SumUp 1.69%, Square 1.75%, contactless on any terminal) run below most QR rates. QR wins where you cannot or do not want to hand over a device.
Are QR code payments safe?
The payment itself runs on the same hosted checkout or banking-app authentication as any online payment, with Strong Customer Authentication applied. The specific QR risk is code swapping: a fraudster stickers their own code over yours and collects your takings. Check displayed codes regularly, use codes printed within your own materials rather than loose stickers, and reconcile takings daily.
Should I take QR payments instead of a card machine?
For a fixed business with a counter, no: in-person card rates are lower and tapping a terminal is faster than scan, load, type. QR earns its place as an addition: table ordering in hospitality, donation points, market stalls that occasionally overflow one reader, invoices displayed on screen, and any situation where the customer is not within reach. Many businesses run both from the same provider account.
Sources
Fees read 14 July 2026 from: the PayPal UK merchant fees page (paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees), stripe.com/gb/payments/payment-links, squareup.com/gb/en/online-checkout, sumup.com/en-gb/pricing, gocardless.com/pricing. Zettle QR closure to sellers who joined after 8 May 2023 verified July 2026 against zettle.com/gb/pricing.
Related
Payment links UK · Pay by bank · Card payments over the phone · Tap to Pay on iPhone · Tap to Pay on Android · Card readers · Fees calculator
Reviewed by Oliver Mackman. Last reviewed: 2026-07-14.